Opening Pandora's Jar
by r-nica
Summary: /KxHxT/ Being with the BBA Team for a long time has made Hiromi curious about her own potential as a beyblader. So when pushed by Takao's attitude, she tries to be one but instead becomes unknowingly the Pandora of a dangerous beyblade. Involved with her, Kai must find out what's behind her sudden strange actions if he doesn't want her to end up like that bey's previous owner: DEAD
1. My Starting Point

**DISCLAIMER:** As much as I'd love to own Kai and the rest of the cast, I can't because they belong to Aoki Takao. I'd be rich otherwise.

**A/N: If you hate Hiromi aka Hilary, you still have the chance to go back and not read this fic. Otherwise, proceed. **

**This fic is inspired by the famous Greek myth of Pandora's jar (or vase in some references; I prefer to use jar since it seems more credible). Actually, it's more popularly known as Pandora's box but after much researching I learned that there was a mistranslation by the sixteenth century monk Erasmus, so the _jar_ ended up as _box_ instead. Just to make things clear.  
**

**Hope you enjoy! **

* * *

OPENING PANDORA'S JAR

ChApTeR 1

* * *

Midnight-blue sky. Full moon. Soft clouds slowly drifting. Glistening grass. The clear reflection of the big orb of light on the calm surface of the river. The soothing atmosphere would have granted anyone standing near it a tranquil mind.

But as for her, she had anything but that.

The surface of the river broke into small ripples as she raised her head and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, exhausted from the dinner she had just thrown up. Long locks of tangled brown hair strayed on her face. Her breath labored, she tried to take a deep soothing breath. Yes, she knew she was punishing herself but she couldn't find any other option. There was too much at stake.

:Is that the best you can do?:

"Shut up and just go away!" she tried to shout but the words came out slurred.

:It is a futile effort. Do you know your name? Do you know yourself?:

She screamed and moved to the grass, clutching her head as though to stop the voice inside her. Her hand dug into the pocket of her pants and threw the object away, not caring where it fell as long as it wasn't anywhere near her. The force of the action made her whirl, intensifying the dizziness and she fell on the ground.

:You cannot stop me. No one can. I am not going back there.:

"You won't win. I won't let you!" Again the words were indistinct to her ears. A few blades of grass were stuck on her sweater. It took her forever before she managed to crawl on fours just to leave her spot. Standing up was just too much. _What is this place?_

:I want to see you try. You do not even know where you are. You do not even know who you are.:

She hauled herself until she reached the wall of the bridge, never feeling as drowsy as she was feeling right now. The sleeping pills she took earlier must be working already by now. _I want to get this over with… _She forced her eyes to take in everything she could—the river, the bridge, the houses which seemed so far away—everything while there was still time. Her mind tried to memorize even the most trivial of her surroundings but she couldn't see, not when everything was a blur. _I can't let it take everything away from me… I must keep on remembering something…_

:How long are you going to keep on doing this? Clearly you are the loser here, Pandora.:

She had never felt so drained in her entire life. But she had to fight. For the last time of the night, she clumsily unrolled the piece of paper from her pocket and tried to read it. Somewhere at the back of her mind it was as though she had done this a hundred times before. _I C—I CAN'T ALLO—TAKE…_

It was hopeless. Her eyes gave up already. Leaning against the wall, she desperately hugged her knees and rested her head on them. _Come on… I want it to end… Hurry up… _

* * *

The bright cheerful sun the next day was starting to lose its effect. The sky now was nothing more than a very broad scroll of white and gray of various shades.

Just the perfect way to match Hiromi's mood.

Oblivious to the strange looks people cast on her, the brunette just kept on marching, a bag on her back. She wasn't sure where exactly she was going but it sure would be a whole lot better to go there, anywhere away from the dojo she had just gone to. Before she knew it, she was already sliding her way down to reach the side of the river while bottling up her silent annoyance.

_I can't believe him!_ Hiromi just chose a random spot on the grass to sit on. _The thanks I get for trying to be of help!_ The thanks she got for trying to be a good friend to a beyblading champion who obviously couldn't care less about his slipping grades in school. As if that was the only issue putting her in a foul mood. She should still be smiling now but noooooooo, Takao the omniscient beyblader _had_ to go and ruin her good mood.

"Doesn't he care about anything else? Does he have to make fun of me?" She hadn't realized she had yelled the words out so loud. Looking around to see if anyone had witnessed the start of a tirade, she felt a wave of embarrassment when she noticed a girl leaning against the support of the bridge. With her head touching her knees while in a folded form, she seemed to be asleep.

Not wanting to wake her up, the brown-haired girl stood up and settled down on a spot a few feet away. _Just what's his damage anyway?_ But she knew deep down what the answer was.

There was just too much passion inside Takao when it came to beyblades, shooters, winders, holy beasts or anything related to its sport. Hiromi had understood this passion; after everything she had seen, after witnessing every threat of beybladers to take away his team's holy beasts, she couldn't fault someone who was trying to defend one of the things he valued most.

But that was already many weeks ago. Now all of them were living a normal and undisturbed life. Rei had a few more months to spend in Japan before going back to China to resume teaching the kids in his hometown about beyblading while Kai was due to go back to studying in a few weeks' time. In the meantime, both beybladers were staying at the Kinomiya dojo. Even Max had gone to school already, and Takao, Kyouju and Hiromi had gone back to attending school on a regular basis.

But unlike Kyouju and her, Takao couldn't balance academics and beyblading properly. Yesterday was the seventh time he had discovered his shooter instead of his books inside his bag. Not to mention sleeping in, being always the last to come to class without even being on time—the list could go on forever. _The problem with him is that he pays _too much_ attention to beyblading even if nothing peculiar is going on. He has to be concerned about the matters outside it. Just like how Kyouju would tell me: the power of the offense and defense of a beyblade should have balance with its endurance._

Oh, now she was talking to herself about beyblade concepts. Funny, months ago she couldn't care less about some stupid spinning top enjoyed by immature boys wasting their time. She couldn't see what the big fuss was all about, why so many young people dedicate their lives to it. So how on earth did she, of all people, get hooked to the very thing she degraded the most? Jeez, for crying out loud, it was just a _toy_.

At least, that was what she would have said a long time ago.

_It's all because of Takao._ If Hiromi hadn't watched Takao's rematch with Ozuma, if she hadn't been kidnapped along with Kyouju by two strange guys in black, she wouldn't be wondering now. But at that time she was involved without knowing why and how. She had to take some action to answer her own questions; there was no way she would just sit and do nothing about the matter. And that was the beginning of her entering Takao's world. And from that point on, nothing was the same again.

It was also because of Takao that she had met different people. Scientists, evil masterminds, beybladers with different kinds of passion for beyblading. And among those beybladers were Takao and Kyouju's three closest friends, members of the famous BBA Team. Hiromi sighed inwardly. It was rather ironic. Hiromi, class president, the girl known for her punctuality and discipline, was hanging out more often than not with the same guy who was practically the complete opposite of her. Hiromi, the person who didn't know much about beyblading and had been annoyed with it, the girl who didn't even blade, now practically the manager of the world's most powerful beyblading champions.

:Miss…:

Auburn eyes blinked, scanning the surroundings but saw no one else besides the sleeping girl. Was it her or did she just hear someone speak?

:Help me…:

There it was again. That whispering voice full of pleas. Hiromi quickly got up on her feet, her ears straining to find the source. "Is someone calling me?"

:By the river… Please help me…:

Slowly Hiromi's feet led her to the edge of the riverside. The voice stopped when she knelt to pick up something sticking out of the tuft of grass. "A beyblade?" She examined the amethyst beyblade in her hands, trying to make sure if the voice really did come from it. _Weird. Must be my imagination._ A frown crossed her features, and she placed the beyblade back on the grass. _Maybe some kid practiced with his beyblade here and lost it._

But just when she was about to get up, a wave of temptation swept over her and she looked back, her eyes lingering on the beyblade that wasn't even hers. She felt compelled to reach out and take it. She didn't know why. It was as though there was this unseen force driving her to just do it. So she picked it up again, this time looking for what made it so special. _Nothing._ But then the previous events this morning came rushing back.

_"Shut up, Hiromi! Did you come all the way here just to bug me about school? It's bad enough I had to put up with your orders during classes, now you nag about my grades too?" _

_"Get a clue about yourself, Takao! Your grades in Math and Science are slipping and you still care more about beyblading than pulling them up. I just want to remind you because there is something else important following this." Hiromi had held up the book to Takao. "This is something which can help you balance studying with beyblading." _

_Takao's eyes had scanned the title. "A Math problem-solving book?" A scowl had followed. "Thanks but I don't need this. Who does?" _

_"Takao!" This guy had started to get on Hiromi's nerves already. _

_"Don't yap on me about grades because you're not my grandfather. You have nothing to do with this," the tenacious beyblader had retorted. _

_"Well, for your information, Takao, I'm managing the BBA Team or have you forgotten that? Naturally I'd be concerned about the welfare of its members and supervise—" _

_"No, _you_ forgot, Hiromi. You're only _acting_ manager here. You know, up to now I've been wondering why you of all people are taking care of us considering that you don't know the first thing about beyblading." _

_The brown-haired girl had felt a nerve twitching already. "I do so! I've been hanging out with you guys long enough to know something about it!" _

_"Oh yeah?" he had challenged, a smirk on his face. "Then tell me the parts of a beyblade. Unless…" _

_"Of course I know. The bit chip, attack ring, weight disc, the…" Her mind had gone blank and she had searched her brain to complete her answer. "Uh…" _

_"Gee, the blade base and the spin gear don't sound so important." _

_Annoyance had started to fill Hiromi's body. "You talk like you didn't start out as an amateur before. You weren't exactly born with a silver beyblade in your hand, Takao." _

_"Yes, I was. I've been beyblading my entire life. Of course, how could a girl who can't even blade possibly understand?" _

_"_Can't_? I can be a beyblader if I choose to be and a good one at that. Who knows—" she had paused, "—maybe one day I'll have my own holy beast too." _

_For a few moments, silence had passed. Then Takao had burst out laughing. _

_"What are you laughing at?" she had demanded. _

_Takao had doubled over, clutching his stomach and all. "Nothing, just the idea of you becoming a beyblader, let alone owning a holy beast—" He had dissolved again into hilarious laughter, rolling on the ground as he did so. "Oh, man!" _

Hiromi's hand clutched the beyblade tightly. _I'll show you, Takao. Even if I don't get to have any holy beast, I'm going to become a beyblader. I'll start with that. Then let's see if you can still make fun of me._ Giving the beyblade a final glance, she shoved it into the bag. There was no point in transferring her negative emotions to an innocent object to its breaking point anyway.

The truth was, Hiromi was curious about playing with a beyblade herself. It had crossed her mind a dozen times before but she never really paid attention to these thoughts. Managing people and organizing stuff were more of her style, and they had kept her busy enough to not entertain such ideas. But now that she wasn't doing anything for the BBA Team after the last battle with ZO, she was starting to grow fascinated just by watching any of the guys practice with each other. What were they experiencing during a beybattle? She could deny it forever if she wanted to but deep down she really wanted to know. Maybe she really had the potential to be like them. Maybe she just needed a little encouragement.

Too bad Takao had to burst her bubble.

_He can be such a jerk sometimes._ Hiromi could feel herself getting worked up all over again as she pulled out the Math book from her bag, staring at it as though imploring for answers for Takao's insensitivity. _He didn't have to laugh at me! Well, if he's going to continue being like that, I'd have to—_

Her thoughts were cut by the rustling of footsteps against the grass behind her. In the midst of annoyance and without thinking, she spun around and hurled the book right at the unfortunate soul who had decided to approach her at the wrong time. But it was too late for her to realize that she had flung the book at a familiar guy with blue prints of triangle on his face. _Oh no!_

Kai expertly caught the book with his right hand a few millimeters away from his face before it could leave a heavy mark on it. "I hope throwing thick books at people is not a habit of yours."

Hiromi covered her mouth with her hand, quite horrified. She quickly bowed before him several times in apology. "Oh, Kai, I'm so, _so_ sorry! I didn't realize it was you! It's just…" Now how was she going to explain this?

Kai's gray eyes examined the front cover and he flipped through the first few pages before looking at her. "Just don't do that again," he said finally, handing her the book.

"I won't," she promised. "What exactly are you doing here?"

"I'm on my way to the dojo. You?"

She let out a sigh. "Oh, _there_. I just left."

Kai's gaze was studying her face closely. "Kinomiya."

She blinked in surprise. "How did you—" Was it that obvious from the look on her face? "Well, yeah, he's the cause. Again." She hesitated, wondering if it would be appropriate to ask Kai the question. "Kai, have you and Takao ever disagreed on something before?"

"Plenty." Kai shifted his gaze to the river behind the girl. "It's not a surprise."

Hiromi placed the book back into the bag. On the way she saw a folded piece of paper—the reason why she had gone to the Kinomiya dojo in the first place. She was supposed to announce it since Kyouju would be late but she had been annoyed with Takao before she even managed to tell the rest of the team. Besides, Kai wasn't there anyway; she wanted to tell it when everyone was present.

Just then something wet her cheek. She held her palm as another drop came from the sky. The start of the rain. "Okay, I'll go with you, Kai. Just give me a sec, okay?" She ran to the wall of the bridge where the girl was leaning on. "Miss, wake up. You can't sleep here," she said, tapping her lightly on the shoulder with her finger.

The girl didn't move.

"Miss, it's starting to rain," the brown-haired girl tried again, tapping her harder.

Nothing.

_I hope she's not as hard to wake up as Takao. _Then_ I'd get drenched._ "Wake up, we have to get out of here." When the girl made no move, she shook her arm—and found it oddly very stiff. As Hiromi watched, the girl fell on her side. Frowning, the former took a closer look… only to see as though the body had hardened, the skin unusually white, and the lips…

Hiromi's heart skipped a beat and she involuntarily took a step back. Suddenly she felt like she couldn't breathe but she could feel her body starting to shake. _What if… _

Kai must have noticed her reaction for he immediately went to her side. Hiromi tried to feel for the pulse on the girl's wrist. _Nothing._ Her heart beat even faster and she automatically clutched Kai's covered arm for support in dread.

Kai knelt down and checked the girl's carotid artery with his fingers. Hiromi's grip on his arm grew tighter as he took a pause. Then she felt Kai stiffen and her lips went dry even before he could say the next two words.

"She's dead."

* * *

**That's all for Chapter 1. I just couldn't resist Kai-Hiromi interaction whatever it looks like. It's my first time to write a fic with Hiromi in it, so I hope this will turn out just fine. **

**You know, reviews can work miracles on the author… *wink wink* *nudge nudge* Reviews especially constructive ones make me happy. ^_^ **

:Please leave a review…:


	2. Coincidence

**DISCLAIMER:** As much as I'd love to own Kai and the rest of the cast, I can't because they belong to Aoki Takao. I'd be rich otherwise.

**I got reviews! I'm one happy writer! ^_^ Thanks to Chibi-Kari, Selphie451, sammy, Hutchy and Penguin Pop for those wonderful reviews! *hugs reviewers* To Chibi-Kari, you must be the first to put any of my fics on the favorites list, and also for being the first reviewer, here's a Kai plushie for you! *gives plushie* (Seriously I thought I'd get only one or two reviews for this.) Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

OPENING PANDORA'S JAR

ChApTeR 2

* * *

"…I don't know exactly what to say." Max was wide-eyed. "Except that it must have been horrible, I guess."

"It _is_ horrible." Hiromi silently took a sip from her cup of tea. She had just finished telling what she and Kai had discovered hours ago. As for Kai, he was leaning against the wall of the team's sleeping quarters in dry crisp clothes while busy drying his wet two-toned hair with a white towel. "We told the police everything we know. But it's rather strange. There was no blood or anything giving a clue that she was murdered or something. Besides, what was she doing there all by herself?"

"Hmm… good point," Rei agreed. "Based on your story she seemed to be anything but murdered. Have the police discovered anything else?"

She shook her head before sneezing a little. "Maybe we'll know in a few days' time."

Takao cast her a sidelong glance. Hiromi seemed a little calmer now and he was relieved, not that he would tell her that, of course, after the way they had argued earlier. Oh sure, he had been primed for another inevitable verbal assault from her when she and Kai came back but had lost the will when he saw her shaken up. It wasn't the Hiromi he always saw, and he wasn't used to it. He would rather see the chocolate-haired girl's pesky side than this. "So you're, you know, okay?"

She looked at him with a faint smile. "Yeah, I guess." At least she was being civilized with him. It seemed as though finding that corpse had erased this morning's incident. For now.

The door was slid open, and a panting Kyouju appeared. "Sorry for being late. I had to wait for the rain to stop. Is it true that Kai and Hiromi-san had discovered a _dead_ girl?"

"Yes." Hiromi seemed weary. "Now can't we just put this behind us? As much as we're involved in it, I don't want to dwell on it anymore. Considering that she seemed to be just my age it starts to spook me."

"Oh, sorry." The smaller boy turned to the others. "Come on, everyone, the ground's almost dry. Let's get going to the program!"

"Program?" Takao blinked. "What program?"

Kyouju watched as Max and Rei traded confused looks before he turned to Hiromi. "You mean you haven't told them yet?"

"Well, I was about to this morning," Hiromi defended, sending an accusing look at Takao's direction, "if only Takao had let me."

Did he just say he would rather see Hiromi's pesky side? "Me? What did I do?"

She seemed like she was going to retaliate but then stopped herself instead. "I'm going to be mature about the whole thing and let it go. Now that everyone's here, it's the best time to announce the news. Daitenji-kaicho had sent Kyouju an email since he had other matters to take care of. The content? Well, he wants to let you know that there will be an upcoming exhibition match."

"Wow, another match!" Takao was absolutely delighted. "I can't wait! What team are we taking on?"

"Let me finish. This exhibition match is no ordinary one. It's a match between two generations of beybladers. The previous one will be represented by a group of more mature and older experts while Daitenji-kaicho decided that you guys would be the best representation of ours. The match is best out of three and will be held four weeks from now. You have to be careful around your opponents; the chairman warned that even if these older beybladers possess no holy beasts, they're as good as those who do since they are more experienced. Some of them are even better. That's why they're representing their generation in the first place."

"All the better!" he declared, hitting his palm with his fist. "This should be a piece of cake."

"Takao, you shouldn't get cocky about this. Remember, you're representing the present generation of the _entire world_ and you have to be in your finest form. Which is why I made this." She took out a folded paper from her bag and handed it first to the nearest beyblader, Rei.

The raven-haired boy scanned its contents. "Hey, this is…"

"Yup." Hiromi nodded proudly. "A new training regime just for you, guys."

"Can I see that?" Takao reached for the paper and his eyes widened as he read. Apparently Hiromi had everything planned out—warm-ups, beyblade exercises, weightlifting, jogging, sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups—in a very strict and detailed timetable for each of them. He could see only a few breaks in between and while the training started with a light workout, each session in succession became more and more severe. All in all their sudden training was going to be eight times worse than before. "Hey, we can't do this all at once!"

"I'm sorry but the news was sudden too. We have a lot to catch up if we want to win. It's been a few months since the last time you had an actual training."

Max looked at the schedule from Takao's shoulder. "It's harder than the usual but if it's going to get me back into shape, then why not?"

Takao's eyes scanned the paper further and stared at the later part in disbelief. Not only had Hiromi written a hectic schedule, she had also included a very strict diet with a limit of intake beside each food item, stressing out what to eat—and _not_ to eat. "No junk food of any kind? No carbonated drinks? Soda and soft drinks are absolutely not allowed?" he read in an incredulous tone. _Does she want us to die?_ He looked up in indignation. "This is not training, it's military boot camp horror!"

"Takao, it's only for a few weeks."

"I don't care! You can't tell me what to eat! This must be the most sadistic so-called training I've ever seen!" He could bet Dragoon that even Kai never had his training in Russia _this_ bad.

"Well, you want to beat your intense opponents, don't you? We can't afford to risk your health because of unhealthy food and you need to be in the right condition and shape. Come on, after the match is over, I won't care what and how much you eat."

Takao stared. How the hell was he going to survive one day of this full-time torture, let alone the next weeks to come? "First the grades, then the training and now food. What's next, where I should live?"

Hiromi sighed as though she were explaining the matter to a little child. "Number one, you're not alone in this because you are a team. Number two, since this exhibition match will be viewed live on an international channel, the reputation of the BBA Team and our generation is on the line. Number three, I had to remind you of your current academic state because if your grades slide down any further, you'll be forced by the school to stay and take extra classes after our regular ones everyday until you catch up with us. Then you won't be able to practice for the match, let alone blade. And just to remind you, we have a Math test next week."

_Damn, she's right._ Of course the stubborn champion wouldn't admit _that_ aloud in front of Hiromi. He would rather die first. "Whatever. At least it's only the six of us who knows."

"I heard every single word of it."

Takao stumbled back at the sound of the sudden voice, looking behind him in great surprise. "J—Jiichan!" Where the hell did he come from?

His grandfather stood tall and stared down at him. "Well now, Takao. If I hadn't heard it from your conversation with Hiromi-chan this morning, I never would have found out your current position in class." His face broke into a mock evil smile. "I guess someone's been lying to me about certain things the entire time, hm?"

Takao laughed rather nervously, feeling sheepish. "A few things can slip the mind sometimes."

The old man shook his head. "I have known that you're not always studying but your failing marks are news to me. If you don't do something about it, I'll be forced to take some action."

The beyblader waved his hand dismissively. "Okay, whatever you say, Jiichan."

"Takao, I'm serious. One more sliding grade and you're grounded. I mean it."

_Tch._ As if his grandfather would be that serious enough about his school. If it were about kendo practice it was no shocker but this was completely different. "Don't worry about me, Jiichan. I'll handle my grades well, no problem." Yeah, he definitely would.

Just as soon as he did something about the exhibition match anyway.

* * *

"GO SHOOT!"

After the winder was pulled fast, the beyblade danced in circles on the ground. Then it stopped spinning.

_Again._ "GO SHOOT!"

Same result.

"_Argh!_" Sweat was forming on Hiromi's temple as she picked up her beyblade. Never had she been so frustrated in her entire life about something. Now she knew how Takao and the others had felt when they couldn't master the MG core yet. This secret self-training was giving her second thoughts already, and it had been only the third day she tried after school. _And to think the guys make it look so easy to do!_ She couldn't even make a decent straight move, and that was only part of the basics.

_This is making me exhausted,_ she thought while packing up her stuff to go home. Sure, she wasn't the type to just give up but so far her efforts were awfully fruitless. _What if I'm not really beyblader material after all?_

:You should not give up.:

Startled, the weary girl took out the purple beyblade, the one she had decided to keep. There was no way she would allow herself to be seen purchasing a beyblade in public. Not until she was a full-fledged beyblader anyway. It was bad enough that Kai had nearly caught her buying the shooter three days ago. "You… You're speaking from the bit, aren't you?"

:That is right. Don't give up. You have the potential to become a great beyblader and deep down you know it.:

"Well…" She _was_ having a fascination for beyblading lately. And she also wanted to show Takao that she could prove him wrong. Those two main reasons were enough to lift her spirits a little. "You think so?"

:I know. Of all the mistresses I had served, you by far bud the best.:

"Really?" Hiromi felt flattered. At least someone was making an effort to encourage her. Why couldn't Takao do the same? "Hey, are you, you know, a holy beast?"

There was no reply.

"Hey, did you hear me?"

Again she received no response.

_Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter. _Why should she give up now anyway? She had worked hard to see holy beasts before and all her efforts had paid off. Becoming a beyblader was no different. Hiromi walked away from the harbor, trying to figure out a way to get trained. And then it hit her. If she couldn't help herself, then she needed help from others.

Luckily on her way home she spotted a brunet in Chinese clothes ahead of her. Hiromi smiled to herself. "Rei?" she called out.

The guy stopped and turned around. "Hiromi-san!" He waited for the girl to catch up with him. "What's up?"

"Rei, I have a favor to ask you. But please, don't ever mention this to anyone. Especially not to Takao."

* * *

_"Come out, holy beast!" _

_A blinding flash of light shot out of the violet beyblade. And then everything was over. _

_Hiromi stood before a beystadium, watching as her beyblade spun in perfect speed in the middle of the dish. Her opponent, a tall strong-looking stranger, fell on his knees in despair. His beyblade had just been knocked out. The crowd went wild and shouts of joy pierced the air of suspense. _

_"With a final flourish, one beyblade remains in the dish. We have a winner, Tachibana Hiromi!" _

_The audience roared again as the bright spotlight shone alone on Hiromi. The cheering never ceased. Someone gave her a big trophy and she held it high with one hand, a big smile on her fresh face. Another raised her hand to acknowledge her triumph and she had never felt so victorious in her entire life._

Hiromi's eyes opened before she slowly sat up from her bed. "Oh, just a dream."

But it had felt so real. She closed her eyes, remembering the way the crowd rooted for her, the image of her beyblade knocking her opponent's out of the beystadium, the surge of energy and excitement that coursed through her body… _Do the guys feel this way too when they blade?_

Those training sessions she had with Rei for the past few days must be having an effect on her. Well, it was a good effect. Hiromi gave herself a smile and walked to her window. The moon was still full. Maybe dreams could come true after all.

And she could hardly wait.

* * *

The night was cool but Kai was drenched in sweat. He took in slow but deep breaths, trying to relax again before changing his shirt with a fresh one. But it was hard for him to go back to sleep. The troubled teen stood up, left his unfolded _futon_ and left the room.

_That dream._ Or rather, that nightmare. Kai sat down outside as his mind wandered back to his most recent dream. The one where he saw the dead girl screaming while clutching her head. Hiromi was there too, asking her what was bothering her. Whatever the girl had screeched, Kai couldn't make out the full sentence but the next moment Hiromi started screaming as well. Along the same way she clutched her head was the expression on her face—a mixture of hopelessness and the resolve to die. It was such an exact mirror to that of the deceased girl.

And all the while he just stood there.

Kai's gray eyes stared at the grass ahead of him yet his focus was somewhere else. In some way the dream made sense but at the same time it didn't. He and Hiromi had discovered the dead girl nearly a week ago. The memory of it must be still fresh, although not as fresh as it had been before. _So why did I dream about it just now? What is that supposed to mean? _

_Why Hiromi? _

Suddenly he remembered something. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a strip of paper and unrolled it. He had seen it lying somewhere near the corpse while Hiromi was busy calling the police. Knowing that he wasn't supposed to touch anything within the area of an unreported dead body, he could get into serious trouble for it. But for some reason he didn't know, he had hidden the paper in his pocket after reading it. Now before him were the words written in a girl's neat handwriting. _I CAN'T ALLOW IT— _

_Just a coincidence, Hiwatari,_ a voice inside him said, cutting him from finishing the sentence. _You seriously need to sleep for the training tomorrow. _

Kai paused for a while before rolling the paper again. _Coincidence._ He got up, returned the small scroll in his pocket and headed back to the room. It was just a bad dream. That was normal; he had worse nightmares than this before. Tomorrow he would be bound to forget it anyway.

His feet stopped right after he entered the dark room. _Coincidence. _

So why did he feel uneasy?

* * *

:To the readers, please leave a review. Thank you.:


	3. It Hurts When No One Believes

**DISCLAIMER:** As much as I'd love to own Kai and the rest of the cast, I can't because they belong to Aoki Takao. I'd be rich otherwise.

**I'm _extremely_ sorry for the late update. You see, I'm currently taking summer classes right now (which I'm starting to regret taking but I have to), writing two new fics (one of them is a KxH fic ^_^), and battling with one of the worst enemies an author can have, _writer's block_. Curses. **

**There are a lot of KxH fics out there waiting for me to read them but I can't…! Gah, the only thing I can do is update but I wanna read too! But anyway! Thanks a lot to Selphie451, Chibi-Kari, Sammy, Hutchy and Messenger of Light for reviewing the second chapter! ^_^ To Chibi-Kari, well… I'm afraid you have to read further, sorry. To Messenger of Light, the buying of the shooter part is pretty irrelevant to the story but thanks for that suggestion! I appreciated what you said, really. ^_^ **

**Here's the third chapter! Hope you enjoy! **

* * *

OPENING PANDORA'S JAR

ChApTeR 3

* * *

_Come on, you can do this, Hiromi!_ Hiromi willed her beyblade to keep changing directions in no more than three seconds. The amethyst object started to move in a zigzag motion before circling around her again.

_One more try._ "Now!"

This time her beyblade obeyed her.

_One move down… and a lot more to go._ But at least now she was making great progress. The brunette couldn't help feeling overjoyed at her most recent tiny achievement. It was just a basic move but it meant a lot to her, especially considering the fact that Rei wasn't with her right now at the park to continue teaching her the rest of the basics. The Chinese beyblader was busy training with the rest of the team at the beach for the exhibition match with Kyouju as Hiromi's temporary substitute trainer. Hiromi had lied to her smaller friend that she had to go home to do something important and she would just follow later. Only Rei knew the real reason behind her words.

Entrusting to Rei her secret was a good idea after all. Hiromi knew she could count on the Chinese blader never to breathe a word about it for as long as she wished. It was kind of him to gladly give her some of his remaining time just to train her when in fact he should be throwing every second of it into the very training she had formulated for the team. In fact, she was almost starting to feel a little guilty for that.

Then the image of Takao laughing at her shot through her head.

Almost.

Even if she had told Rei to give his complete focus on his training instead of sharing it with her today, there was no way she would allow that image to remain in her memory. Even if she had to die trying by practicing with her beyblade to death.

_This beyblade should have its own name,_ she mused, picking it up. _What should be the most appropriate one for it?_

:Pithos.:

_Pithos?_ The word echoed silently in her mind. The same voice from the bit would talk to her once in a while, mostly during the times Hiromi felt down to lift her spirits. It was comforting knowing that at least someone, or something, was on her side always. _How come?_

:This bit has been labeled already. Look at the underside of it.:

Carefully Hiromi removed the bit and turned it upside down. Sure enough there were etched markings although she couldn't understand the meaning at the very least. _Or, Pithos must be the translation, right? Oh well, it's not such a bad name after all. How about you? Don't you have a name?_

:I came to life without a name. It is better this way.:

_Okay, I won't name you then. Come on, let's have one more technique to learn before we call it a day._ Hiromi placed back the bit into place and launched Pithos again.

"Well, look what we have here."

Hiromi looked up to see two sneering guys heading her way. _Just ignore them, Hiromi. Maybe their business doesn't concern you._ Unfortunately, she was wrong.

"What a pretty beyblade you got there, young lady." The first guy's green eyes flashed. "Too bad I hate seeing it in the possession of an amateur like you."

_What's this guy's problem?_ "What do you want from me?" she demanded.

She was answered by a black beyblade launched immediately. Before she knew it, Pithos was being furiously attacked.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" she cried out.

The other guy gave her a nonchalant smile as though this was an everyday-scene for him. "Oh, don't mind him. He's just ticked off seeing powerful-looking beyblades being handled by puny beginners, especially if they happen to be girls. Me? I'm just in the mood again for reducing a beyblade into nothing." His beyblade flew to join the offense.

_Again?_ her mind repeated in horror. Now she was in real big trouble. How was she supposed to fend off simultaneous attacks of a guy who obviously enjoyed demolishing others' beyblades and another with some form of superiority complex? Minute fragments from her beyblade were starting to fly about. "Pithos, stay away from them!"

"Weird name," the nonchalant guy commented, his face forming a twisted smile. "Makes me want to destroy it even more." His red beyblade started grinding again Pithos' attack ring while the black one struck from all sides at once.

"This isn't fair! Stop teaming up against me, you jerks! I'm just learning how to beyblade!"

She was completely ignored.

"I said stop it right now!" She desperately wished Rei, Kai, Max or even Takao were here to ward these bullies off. But she was completely on her own now. And on top of that, she hadn't learned any form of attack or defense; Rei hadn't even finished teaching her all the BASICS. The only thing she could do was to run away—if that was even possible. Her hand reached to pull Pithos out of the beybattle but one of the attacking beyblades flew out to cut her in the cheek.

"This is one tough beyblade," the green-eyed beyblader growled. "Say hello to my final attack."

Panic gripped Hiromi, her mind seeing the vision beforehand. _What if Pithos gets split in half? What if it gets shattered to uncountable pieces? What should I do?_

"Stop talking and just do it," his companion ordered. "We still have a line of amateurs to finish off."

:Call me out!:

Hiromi's mind raced. _Do we stand a chance?_

:We have to fight back if you do not want Pithos to be destroyed. Call me out now! Hurry!:

"Final attack!"

_Oh no!_ "_Come out of the bit!_" she yelled without thinking any further.

Suddenly Pithos was acting like it had a life of its own. Blinding white light shot from the bit and a figure materialized. Hiromi strained to make out the figure but the light wouldn't stop shining as though the figure itself was covered with it. She shut her eyes before she might go blind and when she opened them, Pithos was surrounded by nothing but broken parts of black and red.

The two guys looked stunned. "How…" Then they hurried away from her. In the meantime, the light disappeared along with the figure.

Hiromi could scarcely believe what just happened. _I called out a holy beast. I just called out a holy beast._ Finally the words sank in and the full meaning hit her. _I did it. I officially have my own holy beast now!_ Overwhelmed with excitement, she threw her hands high and whirled around in joy. Once she was done, she took Pithos and ran off.

* * *

"Here, guys." Max wearily pulled out a large sheet of old newspaper from his bag and handed it over to Rei. "You might find this interesting."

Rei silently read the headline and proceeded to the article itself. It was about the first and last Beyblade Museum in the entire world completely destroyed by an earthquake more than a decade ago. Considered as one of the most disastrous events in Japan, everything and everyone was buried alive. None of the artifacts were recovered undamaged. "Where did you get this?"

"I was helping my dad stack up our old newspapers to be thrown away when I came across it. I showed it to him and he told me that this museum was the only one of its kind. You know, he told me he had almost forgotten about it."

"This is the first time I've heard of this." The black-haired boy passed the article to Kyouju.

"I never knew such a place had existed here in Japan!" Frustration was written on the smaller boy's face. "If only I had gone there before, I could have collected a lot of data! But what makes it worse is that I probably wasn't even born yet at that time!"

"If you think that's a problem with the past, try thinking about our situation withthe present. My muscles will never be the same again!" Takao moaned from his position on the sand. "I feel like I'd need at least half a year just to recover from this."

With the little ounce of energy left, Rei uncapped the bottle of cool water and drank greedily. He had to agree with Takao on that one: Hiromi's training _was_ a bit too severe to take. He knew everyone would benefit from it and it was for a good cause after all but it sure demanded a _lot_ of effort and energy. In fact, Rei felt he had been drinking with shredded tissues inside his body—and he had only gone through the first half of the strenuous training. Even Kai was sweating and panting heavily.

Rather than encouraging Takao to escalate the moaning to a full-time rant by joining him, the thirsty brunet chose to finish his drink silently. At least the Japanese boy wasn't complaining about the short breaks Hiromi had inserted in between. _Hiromi-san's two hours must be over by now. I hope she's doing fine without me. If she doesn't come here any minute now, the guys will soon notice._

As if on cue, he caught sight of Hiromi running down the stairs that led to the shore. She seemed overjoyed as she joined him and his friends. "Hey, you're just in time."

"Guys, you won't believe this but the most amazing thing just happened!" Hiromi was unusually hyper. "Even I couldn't believe it either!"

"Hiromi-chan, are you okay?" Max asked in concern. "Your cheek's bleeding."

Hiromi blinked, then delicately placed a hand on her cheek and winced as though she felt the sting and pain of the cut just now. Max offered a handkerchief and she took it to take care of her cut. "I must have been carried away during that beybattle to notice. Oh, does it really matter as long as I won—"

"Wait a sec," Takao cut in, his expression as though he couldn't believe what he just heard. "You _know how to beyblade_?"

Surprise took Rei, staring at the overexcited girl. _I thought she doesn't want the others to know._ Wait. _Did she just say she won?_

Hiromi stopped, suddenly covering her mouth with her hands as though realizing she just slipped her tongue. So much for her secret. "Did I just say that? You didn't hear me say that, did you?"

"No way!" Takao's jaw dropped to the ground, bewildered.

"All right! Way to go, Hiromi-chan!" Max cheered. "Since when did you learn how to beyblade? Why didn't you tell us?"

Hiromi stared at the sand. "I haven't been practicing for long. I'm not yet a pro or anything." But at the same time she seemed to be mentally kicking herself for giving away her secret without realizing it.

"Congratulations, Hiromi-san," Kyouju greeted. "So, what is that you were about to tell us again?"

Hiromi looked up. "Oh, that. Well, since you guys know my secret already, it will be much better to tell it. I was just practicing at the park when these two bullies for beybladers came out of nowhere and attacked my beyblade. I tried to make them stop but they wouldn't listen to me. And just when everything was hopeless, that was when it happened. I managed to call out a holy beast!"

Everyone stared at her in shock. Rei found it a little hard to digest the last sentence, not that he doubted her ability. _I know she canbe a good beyblader in the future but isn't calling out a holy beast too soon and sudden for her?_ But out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of Kai's eyes slightly narrow.

"I don't believe that," Takao spoke finally. "That's just impossible."

"How is _that_ impossible?" Some of the excitement in Hiromi's eyes diminished. "I swear that it's true! How else do you think I won the match?"

"Hiromi, do you even know what you're saying? Nobody can have a holy beast until he has proven he's worthy of keeping it through his skill. Even Max and I didn't receive Genbu and Seiryuu until about a year ago and we were both very experienced beybladers. You just said that you're just a beginner, didn't you? It doesn't add up."

"Are you saying that I'm lying, Takao?" she demanded. "I don't make up stories and I know what I saw."

"Really. Then let's have a beybattle and you show it to us. Then we'll know the truth."

"Fine, then." She moved to the beystadium nearby while Takao took his place at the opposite side. "Three, two, one—"

"Don't be too impulsive on her about this, Takao. She knows only the basics!" Rei tried to interrupt but it was too late to stop the two.

"GO SHOOT!" both beybladers yelled at the same time. Dragoon and the purple beyblade hit the beystadium before Dragoon started launching an attack on Hiromi's beyblade.

"Come on, Pithos! You can do this!" Hiromi yelled, clutching her shooter tightly.

"Go, Dragoon! Attack!"

Dragoon kept on slamming Pithos until the amethyst beyblade was driven almost to the rim of the beystadium.

"What are you waiting for, Hiromi? I can knock out your beyblade anytime now!"

"This shouldn't happen!" Hiromi's grip grew tighter. "Come out, holy beast!"

Nothing came out.

Confusion spread across her face. "Come on, what's wrong? Come out!"

Still nothing.

"Come out, come out, come out, _come out!_" But her words didn't change anything.

"Finish the battle, Dragoon!" Takao ordered. "Final attack!"

Hiromi shut her eyes tight. But at the last minute Dragoon stopped just a few millimeters away from Pithos and returned to Takao's outstretched hand.

"That attack was unnecessary for you. Well, Hiromi? Where's the holy beast you're showing off?"

Hiromi picked up Pithos, looking very baffled. "I don't understand. How come nothing happened? It showed up when I summoned it at the park and it has bright light and everything!"

Rei noticed Kai watching Hiromi intently.

"Yeah, right. There's no holy beast inside your beyblade and you know it." Takao took Pithos from Hiromi's hand and examined it. "Look at your bit; it's blank. If Pithos really does have a holy beast, the bit should be filled with its image."

"But I saw a holy beast!" The brown-haired girl seemed frustrated, turning to Rei. "You believe me, don't you, Rei?"

The Chinese blader wasn't sure how to answer that. Hiromi seemed to be telling the truth but the beybattle seemed to be saying otherwise. So he chose his words very carefully. "I think maybe something may have triggered the release to be like some desperation attack," he said slowly, hoping his answer was vague enough. "Maybe your emotions were intense when you battled at the park and pushed it to come out."

"But it told me to call it out," she protested before turning to the others. "Kyouju? Kai?"

"Well…" Kyouju looked uncomfortable as though wishing he didn't have to answer Hiromi. "At first I thought it could be an unseen holy beast just like Ozuma's. But there was no light at all from the beyblade you have…"

Kai remained silent.

Hiromi looked at the direction of the last beyblader. "Max, say you believe me. Tell them they're wrong!"

"I'm sorry, Hiromi-chan." Max seemed to feel bad for her. "But we didn't see anything."

"You don't believe me? You guys don't believe me?" Hiromi turned to each beyblader with a pleading expression. "I'm telling the truth! Honest!"

Kai abruptly threw his towel and started to walk away. "Break's over. Back to training, everyone." Was he trying to get away from the conversation or was he trying to save Hiromi from further hurt? Rei couldn't read him at this point.

Kyouju's glance fell on his watch and he looked up gratefully. "Oh no, it's time already. We should get going, guys. We don't want to fall behind schedule or else it'll be hard for you to catch up." One by one, the guys set aside their drinks and prepared themselves.

"But guys…" Hiromi had a crestfallen look on her face.

Takao sharply let out a sigh. "Look, you're wasting our time, Hiromi. It's bad enough we're stuck in this murderous program you call training. Now we were unable to fully utilize the last few remaining minutes of this extremely short break you gave us because we had to listen to your made-up fantasies." And he left without another word to join Kai.

Kyouju stood next to the frozen girl. "Hey, um, if you're not feeling well, I can continue taking over the training for today. You just rest, okay?" When she didn't answer, he turned to the others. "Okay, guys! Back to work! We have to do everything to win the exhibition match!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Max saluted before he hurried past Rei. "In a minute!"

Rei dusted off the sand sticking on his pants and started to head off. But on the way he looked back, remembering how hard it was for Hiromi to contain her happiness and excitement just minutes ago. _Poor girl._

Hiromi looked crushed now.

* * *

_Why? _

The sun had already set but Hiromi barely paid any attention to it. At this point she didn't know how long she had been standing on the bridge or what time it was for that matter. Absentmindedly she stared at the blank bit of Pithos in her hands. "Where are you? Why didn't you come out?" There was almost bitterness in that question for the tenth time.

No voice. Nothing.

Hiromi bowed her head, the confusion and disappointment still sharp inside her. She had no proof to show. The guys didn't believe her. _Well, Rei and Kai…_ She wasn't even sure if they believed a single word from her. After all, Rei's answer couldn't be classified as a complete yes or no, while Kai didn't even give one.

They probably didn't believe her too. Hiromi stared down without really seeing anything at all. Finally she decided to go home and started walking away. Only about an hour ago she had been the happiest of all beybladers. Now she felt so alone. The only people she could share her wonderful experience and happiness with, the friends who were supposed to share her joy of fulfilling a wonderful dream, didn't acknowledge it at all. She was completely down.

So down that she never realized Kai had been leaning against a post meters away from the bridge.

* * *

**Third chapter ends! Poor Hiromi. Shall we continue? **

**Kai: _No. _**

**Max: Yesyesyesyes! **

**Thank you, Max-kun. **

**Kai: I hate you. And I'm sure Kinomiya will say the same thing later. **

**Ignore him. Please review, people! Unless this fic is starting to be not worth it… anyway, please review! Thanks! ^_^ **


	4. Where I'm Unwanted

**DISCLAIMER:** As much as I'd love to own Kai and the rest of the cast, I can't because they belong to Aoki Takao. I'd be rich otherwise.

**I couldn't update sooner because I lost access to our computer, not to mention my internet connection having the speed of a snail. Anyway! My thanks to Chibi-Kari, Selphie451, Hutchy, Libe, Messenger of Light, Penguin Pop, Starwave, Goddess-Hope and Hope's Tears for reviewing! ^_^ Wow, people are actually reading my work! I never thought I'd get nineteen reviews for three chapters! ^_^ To Messenger of Light, where I came up with Pithos? I'm afraid I can't answer that for now because it's part of the story or else it might be ruined, sorry. **

**On with the next chapter! Hope you people enjoy! **

* * *

OPENING PANDORA'S JAR

ChApTeR 4

* * *

"One hundred nineteen…" Max pulled his hardest, sweating like crazy.

Rei gritted his teeth and pulled one last time. "One hundred twenty!"

Hiromi clapped her hands twice. "Break time!"

_At last,_ Takao thought in relief while hauling himself. After what seemed to be forever, finally he had the right to collapse and be greeted by the wooden floor of his dojo. The BBA Team had been following Hiromi's training for only over a week now but Takao felt like he had been subjected to it for more than a year. Had he mentioned already how also difficult it had been for him to resist all bags of chips and softdrinks for the past days? They could have been waiting for him right now but noooo, he _had_ to follow Hiromi's starvation regime for a diet. _This exhibition match had better be worth it or else._ "Come on, give me my water already."

"Just a minute." Hiromi got up from the floor but then stopped and looked around. "Have you guys seen it? I thought I placed it just beside me today…"

Kyouju looked up from his laptop. "Don't you remember? You put their drinks back inside the ref an hour ago to cool them again."

"I did?" Hiromi blinked in confusion. "Oh, never mind, I'll just get them."

Takao watched the girl as she walked away from them. Hiromi seemed to be back to her usual self once more. Two days had gone by since her claim about seeing a holy beast coming out from her beyblade but nobody had brought up the incident again.

Or rather, she was acting like that incident didn't happen at all. _Tch._

Hiromi was back after a few minutes. "Cold water for everyone!" she announced, carrying a tray loaded with a full pitcher, several glasses and sandwiches.

A grin spread across Max's freckled face. "Thanks, Hiromi-chan. I'm exhausted!" He took his share and started chewing. "You know, I've been thinking about this training you created and I think it's starting to do me some good in a weird way."

"Really? Thanks," she said. "I know you guys can do it."

"Anything for victory, you know."

"Well, you guys take advantage of this break while you can because after this, it's time to whip you back into shape…" Her voice trailed off.

Rei glanced at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just…" The brunette frowned. "I can't remember what exercise comes next after the break." She seemed to be lost in deep thought. "I'm not sure about the sequence of the next exercises after that one either…"

_What is she talking about?_ Takao wondered in exhaustion. "How come you of all people can't remember them when you were the one who put together this program in the first place? Gee, you're getting weird lately."

"It's not my fault if I can't remember," she shot back, sounding slightly irritated. "Maybe if you help me think then we're done with it?" Without waiting for Takao's answer, she twisted her head to Kyouju. "Give me my list. I want to take a look at it."

"But Hiromi-san, you told me at the beginning of the training that you left the list at home this morning."

Puzzlement became evident on Hiromi's features. "I said that today? I… forgot."

"Are you _sure_ you're okay, Hiromi-chan?" Max asked. "You seem a little disoriented today."

"I'm fine, Max. I guess I must have stayed up too late last night getting ready for our Math test on Friday."

_What's this? Hiromi's starting to act like an amnesiac or something._ That was one of the reasons why Takao never studied ahead of time. What was the point of extending the period of pressure and getting the brain fried with the same information one would learn in only one day? Besides, he was better at the art of cramming and procrastination anyway. _How Hiromi studies at least _four_ days before a test is beyond me._ "I can never understand how you can do such a thing. Obviously your mind's getting affected by it."

"Well," Kyouju interrupted before Hiromi could have a chance to retort, "I have a copy of the schedule with me and so do the rest of the guys. It's not a problem anymore."

Max opened his mouth to say something but then stole a glance behind Takao. "Don't look back, Takao, but your grandfather's back and he doesn't exactly look glad."

Takao turned around. Sure enough his grandfather walked past the wooden gate and headed his way, looking anything but pleased. _Uh-oh, this can't be good._ "Jiichan."

Everyone else stood up and bowed before the old man. For Kai and Rei's part, they just nodded in respect.

"Takao, I hope you still remember our conversation last week." Takao's grandfather sounded stern.

"Yeah…" the grandson replied slowly. "Why do you ask?"

"I got a call from your teacher today and set up an appointment after school. And as I had feared, she wanted to talk to me about your performance in Science and Math, _especially_ in Math. I saw the trend of your grades and I'm more than disappointed with what I saw. And I wouldn't even elaborate on how bad I feel about your class exercises lately."

_Damn those Math exercises. _Great, after trying so hard to keep those failing marks a secret, his grandfather had discovered them. "But I did my best! You can't blame me for that."

"Words are not enough, Takao. Which is why starting today you're grounded."

"_What!_" Shock took Takao._ He can't be serious, can he?_

"For three weeks."

Takao immediately stood up, unable to believe what he was hearing. No way was he accepting this! "You can't ground me! I have an exhibition match to win within those three weeks!"

"Well, it looks like you have to miss that one. We had been through this. Our deal was that you keep your grades from going down or else I'll take action to do something about them. You said you'd handle them well, which you _didn't_, so be a man and keep the end of that deal."

"But my team needs me to play!" he protested. Of all the times his grandfather had to be serious and strict, why _now_? "You can't be serious, Jiichan! My team can't go to that match with a member missing!"

"The match is a best-out-of-three competition," Hiromi stated from the sidelines. "So just relax, Takao."

"I see. Thank you for letting me know, Hiromi-chan." The old man rubbed his chin. "Then you won't be missing anything after all, Takao, since your teammates can fill in for the three slots. For once, take a break from beyblading and start paying attention to your academics. If Hiromi-chan hadn't mentioned that Math exam you'll be having this Friday and if your teacher hadn't confirmed it, you'll be digging a deeper hole than you can get out of. You have tonight and tomorrow to make sure you pass that test and save yourself from repeating Math and the rest of the three weeks to get back on the track again."

"But Jiichan!"

"You can't change my mind, Takao, and that's final. It's for your own good." And then he walked away.

"This can't be happening! This _shouldn't_ be happening!" But as he was saying this, anger flooded every cell of his body and he spun to face the only person to blame. "Thanks a _lot_, Hiromi!" he spat.

"_Me_?" Hiromi was obviously taken aback. "What did I do?"

"If you hadn't opened your big mouth, if you hadn't brought up my grades…" He felt like hyperventilating. No, he felt like he could breathe fire. "If you had just stayed out of my business, then Jiichan wouldn't have found out and interfered with my school life! Thanks to you, now I'm grounded and I lost my chance to beyblade for the exhibition match!"

"_Excuse me?_" The shock on Hiromi's face wore off and was replaced by indignation. "It's your fault to begin with!"

"_My_ fault? How is this _my_ fault?"

Hiromi planted her hands on her hips. "_You're_ the one who's so laidback about classes just because you don't care. _You're_ the one whose academic life is falling apart but just stood and did nothing to salvage it. _You're_ the one who couldn't balance studying and beyblading properly. We warned you and offered you some help but what did you do? You completely ignored us and proceeded on your own stubborn way!"

"That's because _your_ training schedule pushed me to do so!" How dare she made it appear like she was the victim of circumstances here! He really felt like killing her on the spot. "Taking up advice would have been pointless and you know why? Because your horrible and sadistic training exhausts my energy too much to even use some for studying!" Although he didn't really study that much, he knew that was just the thing that would happen even if he did try.

"Takao, you know I'm only trying to help!"

"Screw you, Hiromi! Have you even tried doing a single thing of that stuff you're making us do? How the hell would you know how it feels to be subjected to that boot camp you're forcing us to deal with, huh?" Takao was ranting now but he didn't hold back. To hell with it if he cared. "You wouldn't know because you're not doing it as a beyblader! Hell, you're not even a real beyblader! I'd like to see you try forcing yourself to do something you obviously couldn't do, let alone die trying to get past that training!"

"Come on, you two, will you chill out?" Max asked in an obvious attempt of splitting the two. "This isn't helping you at all."

Takao and Hiromi sent him a sharp glare. "You stay out of this!" both snapped at the same time.

"Okay, okay." Max stepped back. "There's no need to bite me."

Hiromi's auburn eyes darkened. "Why can't you just accept the reality that you brought this on yourself, Takao? You can't keep on blaming other people forever for the mistakes you did!"

"The only person to be blamed for this mess is none other than you! Who asked you to barge in here and screw my life? Nobody told you to create that outrageous excuse for a training! Nobody told you to control the right of other people on what to eat!"

"I'm not that way—"

"So stop dictating us! Stop telling me what to do and stay out of my business! Stay out of my life!"

A sudden force struck him hard across his face. An angry red handprint rose from Takao's cheek as he realized that Hiromi had just slapped him. Time seemed to have stopped. Everyone else stood shock and silent.

Hiromi's suspended hand remained stiff yet her body was trembling in anger. Reddish-brown eyes became stone. "If you're so bothered by that training schedule then don't follow it! Nobody's forcing you to! Nobody should follow it from now on! I've had enough!" She spun around, snatched her bag and stormed out of the dojo.

"Hiromi-san, wait!" Rei tried to go after her but Kai blocked him with his arm. "Kai!"

"If you want to help, then let her cool down." Then Kai's gray eyes switched to Takao. "The same goes for Kinomiya."

_The same goes for me? Cool down, huh?_ Takao narrowed his eyes.

How more wrong Kai could get.

* * *

Hiromi balled her hands into fists at her sides or else they might tear the entire world apart. Something was stinging her at the back of her eyes but she was too mad to even cry. When was the last time she got this furious? I'm_ responsible for what happened to him?_ She felt her body temperature rising again. _How dare he even take it all out on me! Where does he go off blaming me like that?_

_"So stop dictating us! Stop telling me what to do and stay out of my business!" _

_I'm not dictating them!_ she thought furiously. _I want to help them prepare for the match! Why couldn't Takao understand that? Anyway, he's the one who turned down the help I gave him! The thanks I get for trying to aid him!_

_"Nobody told you to create that outrageous excuse for a training! Nobody told you to control the right of other people on what to eat!" _

"Then don't follow it, you idiot!" she yelled as though Takao were there in front of her. "See if you'll win!"

A few schoolgirls nearby glanced at her in surprise. Some other people began whispering to each other.

Realizing that she was starting to lose the grip on herself and others were noticing it, Hiromi forced herself to breathe slowly. _Calm down, Hiromi, calm down… _It took her several minutes to regulate her breathing. At least the oxygen wasn't used much to feed the fire inside her.

_Think with a clear mind, Hiromi,_ her conscience seemed to say. _You know from the beginning that Takao acts more on his emotions than on reason._

_But he's blaming everything on me!_ the fire of anger argued. _He's a self-centered jerk who can't even take responsibility for all the screw-up he did! Why can't he be like the other guys? At least they appreciate my efforts instead of using them against me! At least they don't complain!_

_"Have you even tried doing a single thing of that stuff you're making us do? How the hell would you know how it feels to be subjected to that boot camp you're forcing us to deal with, huh?" _

_What's up with _that_?_ she wondered, expecting herself to boil all over again. But at the same time a different feeling was starting to mix inside her. She couldn't be feeling… guilty now, could she?

_"You wouldn't know because you're not doing it as a beyblader!" _

_No, no!_ She vehemently shook her head. _I don't feel guilty! Why should I be in the first place!_ But she couldn't shake the nagging feeling off. And the realization along with it.

As wrong as Takao was, he was also right. It was true Hiromi had designed that training but she wasn't the one under it. She didn't have to do any of the backbreaking exercises because she wasn't the one getting prepared to fight in three weeks' time. But the guys were.

_Although it's quite strict, I really believe the guys can handle it. But now… _She remembered their exhausted features, the way they collapsed to the ground, the endless sweat pouring from their faces and arms, their labored breathing as she shouted at them to keep on moving… _What if I'm just expecting too much from them? Did I just forget that their bodies have limits too? Maybe I _did_ go extreme on them. Maybe they're feeling the same way as Takao although they're not saying anything._ Although she knew she was doing them a favor, Hiromi hated being responsible for putting too much pressure on them. Especially on Takao who was now grounded. In a way she _was_ responsible for the mess.

_Oh no, and to think I just slapped him on the face!_ Suddenly Hiromi felt horrible. Even though she was so mad at him, slapping him in front of everyone was completely unnecessary. _I have to apologize to him for that. And the training… I have to ease it now._ And with that in mind she started to head back to the dojo.

* * *

"I guess we'll call it a day."

Takao could feel Max's big blue eyes watching him but he ignored them. "I don't call it a day. This training's officially over for me," he stated tersely.

"Come on, Takao. It's not like you to just give up."

The capped boy whirled around, feeling like he was going to explode again any minute now. "Are you deaf? You heard perfectly well that I'm grounded! What's the point now of using that sadistic program Hiromi made? It's her fault!"

"Okay, I know it's your anger speaking, not you," Max said slowly. "Hiromi-chan was also angry but—"

"Why should _she_ get mad? _I'm_ the one who got into trouble because of her! If she would only stop being the dictator she is, maybe I'll be able to breathe for once!"

"Takao! You know Hiromi-chan's only trying to help us, to help you. She's only trying to lend us a hand to get ourselves ready for one of the most important beybattles in our history and deep down you know it."

"What I know deep down, Max, is I'm so sick and tired of her dictating my life when she doesn't have the right!" Takao raged. "She's not the leader of this team. Nobody asked her to go and play manager for us! Who does she think she is? Putting together that so-called training schedule as if she knows how to blade in the first place to experience it! She's nothing but a hypocrite!"

The blond gasped. "Takao, how could you say that!"

Takao growled. "How could I say what? That it's true? She's nothing but a burden, a liability to us, Max! She's beyond irritating and pesky!" His hands balled into tight fists. "She's hanging out with us because of me but that doesn't change the fact that she's not part of this team."

Rei's face screwed with a deep frown. "Takao! You couldn't mean that!"

"She never was and she'll never be one of us! Like we even need her! She's not wanted here and personally we were better off before she came along!"

Max was about to protest but whatever he was about to say died on his lips as he noticed something behind Takao, his mouth slightly open. Takao stopped and looked over his shoulder.

Hiromi stood a few meters away from them, her body frozen and rooted to the ground. The anger in her once stormy auburn eyes had been replaced by a mixture of shock, upset and hurt. Those eyes that were burning before were now very glassy and now her body was a trembling form.

Obviously she had been standing there the entire time, not missing a single word Takao said.

"Hiromi-san…" Kyouju's voice trailed off.

Hiromi turned wordlessly and ran away just in time for Takao to see her face starting to get flooded with tears.

"Hiromi-chan, wait!" Max called after her. "He didn't mean what he said!" But it was too late. The blond shot a look at Takao. "That was very harsh."

"Harsh? I'd say that was brutal." Rei stood up, looking fed up and disgusted. "Let's go, Max." The two concerned beybladers left the dojo in a hurry.

Kyouju turned to Takao. "Aren't you going after them?"

Takao folded his arms over his chest, eyes narrowing. "No and I don't plan to because." Because Max was very wrong.

Because he meant every word he said.

* * *

"_Putting together that so-called training schedule as if she knows how to blade in the first place to experience it! She's nothing but a hypocrite!" _

Hot tears blinded Hiromi as she continued to run, not caring at the very least where she was going. She just couldn't stop them. There was no more strength left in her to do so.

_"She's nothing but a burden, a liability to us, Max! She's beyond irritating and pesky!" _

"Hiromi!" She heard faint voices that sounded like Max and Rei's but she didn't turn around and tried to lose them instead. Why were they chasing after her? She was a burden after all. After much running she got her wish, realizing that they hadn't been able to follow her up to the harbor. Good. She just wanted to be alone, to be away from everyone. Especially the BBA Team. _I guess I should stop seeing everyone and let the guys practice all by themselves._ It wouldn't make a difference if she weren't present, right? After all they didn't need her. They didn't want her. In fact they were better off without her.

_"…but that doesn't change the fact that she's not part of this team." _

One of the many things that had struck a nerve.

Realization hit her as she finally noticed where she really was. The harbor. Here she had shared memories with Rei, Kai, Max, Kyouju.

And Takao.

_No!_ Fresh tears stung her eyes and she tried to run away again. Where could she go now? _The park, the river, the beach… No!_ Where_?_ Every place she knew had Takao written all over it. Her vision blurred and she tripped, her beyblade flying out from her bag.

_"She never was and she'll never be one of us! Like we even need her! She's not wanted here and personally we were better off before she came along!" _

Endless tears started to pool on the rough ground as the painful words continuously tormented her soul. But the fallen beyblader didn't give a care, still too stung to even brush them away. _Takao… why do you have to be so mean to me? Are you… speaking for the entire team? Do you enjoy hurting me? Do you? _

:You are hurt.:

Hiromi slowly pushed herself off the ground with scraped arms. Not that she felt the pain. It was nothing compared to the hell she was feeling right now. "Not now," she whispered while sobbing. "Please. Please just leave me alone… I can't talk to anyone right now."

:I heard every word that boy said. You did the right thing, Pandora.:

She gritted her teeth. "Don't even bring him up and my name's not Pandora. It's Hiromi. And where were you when I needed you the last time?" It was then that she realized how even Pithos reminded her so much of Takao. It _was_ a beyblade after all, and Takao was the epitome of the sport. Suddenly she just wanted to throw the violet beyblade away, so she snatched Pithos and ran back to the dock. But as she was about to hurl it at the water, her pulled-back arm suddenly froze. In fact her entire body couldn't move. "Hey, what's going on?"

:I cannot allow you to do that. We are not yet done, Pandora.:

"I told you I'm not Pandora! Why can't you just leave me alone now!" she snapped, still trying to move but to no avail.

:You just do not know.:

Hiromi struggled but she felt something inside her. Her standing body froze.

And her glazed eyes saw nothing but darkness.

* * *

**When I was writing this chapter, I almost felt like killing Takao but hey, it's for the glory of the story. **

**Don't forget to review, people! Thanks! ^_^**


	5. Am I Supposed To Care?

**DISCLAIMER:** As much as I'd love to own Kai and the rest of the cast, I can't because they belong to Aoki Takao. I'd be rich otherwise.

**After months of having the no good writer's block, I finally have this chapter existing. If you find the previous chapter sad, I'm glad because it's supposed to be sad. Maybe I wasn't being clear about this before (although I thought it was in the summary, sorry anyway), but I better make it: Kai _will_ have his appearances in due time but don't forget that he's _not_ the only guy here who plays a major part as I said in the previous chapter. I'm trying to keep a balance of attention between him and Takao throughout the entire story. I have a certain primary focus on the story but with romance on the side only.**

**Actually, even _I_ don't know if there's a _main_ pairing here. The romantic hints just appeared along with the flow that it's so hard to decide. It's pretty open since I'm a fan of both pairings; besides, regardless of how I or anyone sees it, not everything here is all about romance (romance: second genre, remember?) **

**Next chapter coming up! Hope you enjoy! :)**

* * *

OPENING PANDORA'S JAR

ChApTeR 5

* * *

"Hiromi-san's not here today," Kyouju whispered to Takao once their teacher started writing the class lecture on the blackboard.

Takao stole a glance at Hiromi's empty seat.

"So what."

Kyouju exhaled low enough for only the two of them to hear. "So you're not the least bit worried that she's absent today? You know she never does that without a valid reason."

"Get real, Kyouju," he whispered back. "She didn't attend class on purpose because she's obviously avoiding me. If _that's_ even a valid reason." _Do we really have to talk about her?_ Takao wasn't in the mood to talk about one of his very least favorite people right now, especially after the disapproving looks he had received from Max and Rei yesterday. It had taken him hours before he finally cooled down, only to be greeted by one of the things he hated the most: homework. _Math_ homework. Kyouju had opted for a study group by convincing Max and Rei to help Takao out. The boy with the laptop had been unbearably right and Takao knew he should thank him for the effort but he couldn't. Last night's session had been laced with tension, and it had taken all of them past midnight before the grounded beyblader finally understood what he missed.

He had never felt so sleepy in his entire life.

"She'd never do that. Remember that she came to class even when you two quarreled about that MG core training schedule. Come to think of it, I can't recall the last time she had been absent. Maybe she's sick today. I know you still haven't gotten over what happened yesterday but why don't we visit her after school?"

"_Because_ I don't care a fig about her. Why should I? A dictator like her has too much willpower to even get sick. I bet she even dominates over her own disease." Besides, even if he did care, which he _didn't_, Hiromi would only throw him out of her house, so why bother?

"Takao—" Kyouju stopped once their teacher faced the class again and then back at the blackboard.

"She'll be fine, Kyouju," Takao hissed. "If she really lives up to her claim, then she's going to be here tomorrow for that Math exam. Unless she forgot too that it's Thursday today. Don't tell me you want us _not_ to prepare ourselves and abandon studying after class just for that girl." Crap, he couldn't believe he was using that stupid exam just to cut this conversation short. But it was the sort of thing that he knew would shut Kyouju up. Another word about Hiromi and he might lose it for good.

"…I guess you're right. But if she still doesn't come, we'll just do it tomorrow after school."

Takao directed his stare at the continuous rain outside the classroom's window.

_No way. _

* * *

"You called that an exam? That was a nightmare!"

"It was okay." Kyouju shrugged nonchalantly. "Part two was pretty easy, actually."

"Of course you'd say that," Takao grumbled, his voice still heard over the sound of the shower of rain outside. "That's the part you kept stressing out on me last night."

"That's true, but you have to admit, you don't feel that bad about the exam as a whole, do you?"

"Well… yeah." The truth was, Takao felt strangely great. True, last night he had nearly died of exhaustion from all those drills Kyouju had provided him, and still true, today's exam wasn't exactly easy as always but what surprised him was that he didn't find the test as difficult as he had expected it to be. And there was this weird satisfaction about himself that he received, as though deep down he knew he did his very best, with no regrets, and there was a glimmer of hope inside him that it was possible for him to pass that exam.

Oddly, that weird satisfaction almost resembled the kind he felt whenever he won a huge battle against an unbeatable beyblader. _Studying, like beyblading…_ Hiromi.

_Damn it!_ But against his wishes, his head twisted to look at the class president's empty seat. Why didn't she come to class? She was supposed to show off to his face on how studying ahead of time had helped her take the exam in a breeze. _Maybe Kyouju was right. No, she probably slept through the entire day for staying up too late. Just to prove that she's right and make me look so bad again. It figures._ Why should he make a big deal out of that? Hiromi was the last person he wanted to see.

But it was too late for him to realize that Kyouju had already noticed the look on his face. "I know you're worrying about her. She must be sick."

_Worry_? About _Hiromi_? "I'm _not_. And so what if she's sick? It's not my fault." _But what if she got sick for studying too much?_ a voice inside him asked him back. Unable to believe how that single question started making him feel ever the slightest bit bothered, Takao shook his head hard to silence that annoying voice. It worked.

"Come on." Kyouju headed for the classroom door. "One way to find out."

"No." Takao crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly. "You're not going to make me go to her house. I'm going home."

"You don't have to do the talking. But," Kyouju paused at the door, "if you're _that_ afraid to see Hiromi-san, then I guess I _should_ go alone. See you tomorrow."

Takao turned away, refusing to let Kyouju's words affect him. But as the ceasing rain made the smaller boy's footsteps seem to echo along the hallway, something inside him forced him to get up. _This is purely ridiculous._ "Wait, Kyouju!"

Sick or not, there was no way he was letting Hiromi be under the impression that _he_ was scared of facing _her_.

* * *

"Hiromi? She's not yet back. Would you like to wait for her inside? I'm sure she's on her way home now."

Takao and Kyouju traded confused looks as they stood outside the Tachibana residence. Hiromi left her house today?

"Thank you but that won't be necessary, Tachibana-san. We just dropped by to visit her," Kyouju finally replied. "So she's not sick?"

"Sick? No. Although she looked quite tired before leaving this morning with her school bag and a few books… But that's probably because she stayed up too late last night studying for a Math exam. You're Kyouju and Takao, right?"

_I just _knew_ she had to do that,_ Takao thought in triumph. _Wait, hold that thought. _She left for school this morning?

Kyouju seemed to be in the same thought. "We are. But… we haven't seen her the entire day. Actually we didn't see her yesterday either."

Hiromi's mom seemed surprised. "That's rather strange. Hiromi had left for school yesterday and came back the same time she usually does."

"She had?" Takao and Kyouju said at the same time before looking at each other.

"Yes. Wait a minute." The older woman studied the two boys closely for a while. "You belong in the same class, am I right?"

"That's right," Kyouju replied.

"I don't understand…"

_Me neither._ Takao watched a conflict of confusion and a darkening expression play on the mother's face. _She doesn't exactly look pleased to learn her daughter had started skipping school in secret,_ he noted, a thin film of evil satisfaction forming inside him just knowing the future disaster Hiromi was heading for. _Let her feel how it's like to be in trouble for an action _she_ made herself._

"I'll have a word with her when she comes back," Hiromi's mom said finally, although not sounding as pleasant as she was at the beginning of the conversation. "I just don't understand why Hiromi would do such a thing."

Takao did his best to keep out any form of reaction from him, his mind still on the woman's earlier words. If what she said was true… where was Hiromi then?

"I see," Kyouju answered for Takao although it was dead obvious that neither of them did. "Thank you very much." He bowed politely and Takao followed suit.

"You're welcome." The woman returned the bow.

The two boys started walking away.

"That's so weird," Kyouju commented once Hiromi's mother was out of earshot. "First she didn't attend class, then she missed an exam. But all the while she's acting normal, at least, based on what her mom said."

Despite the remaining anger left inside Takao, he couldn't help feeling a twinge of worry. But it was only a twinge. He had no right to even feel it. "Now what the heck's her problem? Like proving to herself that she can be a delinquent would prove to the world how much tougher she really is than she looks. I bet if she screws up big time she'll blame me for causing her to be one. Shall we start with skipping class?" Sarcasm dripped from his last sentence.

"Exactly. But why would she want to do that? It doesn't make any sense for her to tarnish her clean record now." Then he nearly gasped. "What if she got caught in an accident or something? But that wouldn't explain how she got home yesterday safely."

"Tch."

"So you really _don't_ care?"

"Am I supposed to?" he retorted. "You know, since you care _too_ much about that girl, why don't you track her down yourself?"

"It's not that I care _too_ much about her. Anyone from the team would do that kind of thing for her. We would do the same thing for you. But I guess you still need to get rid of that dark cloud before your eyes to see the answer to your own question."

"I don't need answers," he replied a little tersely. Still, he could see Kyouju's point.

But that didn't mean he was supposed to care.

Because he was going home, knowing that Dragoon wouldn't be waiting for him to be used outside his dojo.

* * *

"This sucks."

Still leaning against the wall of the dojo on a Saturday morning, Kai watched Takao sulking on the outside wooden floor as Rei and Max continued their intensive beyblade practice against each other. The grounded boy was practically green with envy. Kai mentally shook his head. If Takao hated every second of his grounded state, then why was he torturing himself by watching their two other friends play knowing that he himself wasn't allowed to even hold a beyblade?

But his attention on his grounded teammate was only short-lived as his mind was really on other matters. On Hiromi.

Ever since his nightmare, he had been observing her behind his mask of indifference. But as time passed, the dream had lost its color and faded from his worries and life, proven by the fact that all he had seen from the brunette had been nothing out of character.

Until a few days ago. The closest strange thing Kai had gotten was the part where Hiromi had claimed about summoning a holy beast from her beyblade, the one she called Pithos. Kai had seen a great conflict of possibilities back then. On one side, Takao's side about reality, the guy had been completely right: For a complete beginner like Hiromi, it was unfeasible for her to have her own holy beast. There had been no concrete evidence to prove her claim. And based on the reasons he and Kyouju provided, for once Kai had been in the same wavelength as the two boys were at the same time.

But then why would Hiromi claim something outrageous knowing that the guys were a lot times better and more experienced in beyblading than her while she was just starting? What would she get out of it other than embarrassment? It wasn't like Hiromi to promote herself as she already had done enough when she and Takao were at each other's faces. And she had seemed so excited and then desperate and pleading when no one completely took her word for it. Like…

Like she was telling the truth. That had spoken a lot for Hiromi's side.

The closest explanation for the entire situation was the answer Kai silently shared with Rei. It wasn't really impossible, _assuming_ Hiromi did have a sacred spirit inside her bit. It nearly resolved all of Kai's doubts but then under the same assumption, a new question was formed.

Where and how did Hiromi get the holy beast inside her beyblade?

He couldn't just base his opinion on mere assumption, thus only half-believing the auburn-eyed girl. But even without telling her what he really thought of the entire situation, he had seen how she was hurting herself with each useless plea she made that he had wanted her to stop. Cutting her off by going back to the training had spared her from further confirmation of her rejected belief but she had been no better when he had checked on her standing alone at the bridge after their training.

A few days had come by, and nobody brought up the whole holy beast issue again, perhaps to avoid hurting Hiromi's feelings, to move on for the exhibition match, which Kai had fully intended focusing on more than anything else. Except for that heated fight Hiromi and Takao had, a problem only those two could and should solve despite any external assistance from Kai and the others, everything else had been completely normal.

Until yesterday afternoon. After training by himself at the beach, Kai had decided to go back to town to get himself something to eat. When he was done, rain had caught up, and he had been stuck outside the café, back leaning against the wall as always. While waiting, he had spotted a flash of pink and white speeding along the sidewalk at the far end across the street. A girl without an umbrella or even a jacket. She had been a little far from Kai's spot but he could have sworn it was Hiromi. When she traversed the intersection, he had gotten a closer view to catch a look of satisfaction on her face. _A smirk._

There was something about Hiromi telling Kai's gut not to dismiss it as nothing peculiar.

He had to keep an eye on her from now on.

"Good morning."

All other ungrounded beybladers took a pause from whatever they were doing to look at the source of the voice in surprise, and Kai turned to see Hiromi enter the Kinomiya gate. The girl seemed very calm, as if nothing had blown out of proportion a few days ago at this very area. What was she doing here? The last thing Kai expected from her was to be in the same quarters as Takao.

The navy-haired beyblader visibly tensed and he got up stiffly. "The air outside must be fresher than here. I'll see you guys later." He made a point of taking a long cut, a path that didn't cross Hiromi's and kept a rather long distance away from her while walking out of the dojo.

Hiromi's eyes hardened into ice and she quickly turned away her head from him, then shot a glare at the exiting owner. The tension was so thick, and Max and Rei exchanged uncertain looks. Finally Takao left the dojo, and as Hiromi relaxed, everyone else silently gave a sigh of relief.

"Hiromi-chan," Max greeted with his usual cheerfulness. "It's good to see you again."

"Glad you can join us," Rei added, brown eyes carefully examining her mood.

"Hey," Hiromi simply uttered without much of an expressive tone, leaving Max to blink and Rei's forehead to furrow a little. Meanwhile the girl walked over to the wall Kai was leaning against, folded her arms behind her back and let them lean against it. Resting the sole of her right foot on it, she remained perfectly silent as she stared ahead of her.

"Ow, what's with him?" A groaning Kyouju entered the scene, gingerly rubbing his arm.

"Kyouju," Max greeted. "Takao said your stomach had been suffering since yesterday early evening. How are you feeling now?"

"Much better, thanks," the data analyzer replied. "I think it must be something I ate but I'm all right now. Sorry I couldn't meet you guys yesterday for the training."

"Don't worry about it," Rei reassured him. "If you need to rest, then rest. Takao said you were so worse off yesterday that he had to take you home."

"Yeah. What's with him anyway? On the way here he practically knocked me to the ground but didn't even bother to say sorry for—" His words were cut off when he finally noticed Hiromi was standing there. "Oh."

Hiromi barely reacted.

"Hi, it's so good to see you again, Hiromi-san." Kyouju was back on normal mode again, approaching the girl. "We were worried about you and stopped by your house yesterday but your mom said you weren't home yet."

"_We_?" Hiromi repeated. "Who exactly are _we_, Kyouju?"

"Um… Takao and I." Suddenly Kyouju gulped as though just mentioning the navy-haired boy's name would unleash her temper or her tears at any moment.

"So he did, huh." Sarcasm. "Good one, Kyouju."

"But… Never mind. So what happened? We… I thought you were sick but it looks like you're fine." Kyouju gave an up-and-down stare at Hiromi's tired profile. "Or more or less fine. What about your exam?"

"Exam?"

Kyouju seemed surprised. "You know, that Math exam yesterday?"

Kai watched as confusion softened the sarcasm on her face. That Math exam. He knew about that after everything he had witnessed from Takao and Hiromi's arguments.

So why did Hiromi herself seem like she didn't have the slightest idea what Kyouju was talking about?

Hiromi shook her head weakly. "Don't mind me. I don't know why but I've been scatterbrained lately."

"Hey, Kyouju, can you come here for a sec?" Max called out, waving his beyblade for emphasis. "It looks like Draciel needs an upgrade but I'm not sure. Can you check?"

"Coming." Kyouju left to join the blond and Rei. Soon he and Max were engaged in a conversation of their own.

For the first time Kai got a closer look at her. Dark circles were under almost blank auburn eyes, skin complexion unusually ashen. Even a blind could see how exhausted she looked as though she hadn't gotten any proper sleep for days. The spirit of vigor which he found her sometimes using to win a verbal match against Takao was completely absent. So unlike the lively Hiromi who monitored his team's progress in training. "What are you doing here?"

Hiromi twisted her head. "Sending me away right now, Kai? Cool. Though you could have at least waited for the others to do it together." Her voice was a little restrained with fatigue. Then she focused her attention at the other guys who were heading their way over to them now. "And it looks like you're all doing fine without me. Good thing I'm out of the way, huh?"

_Hurt and bitter._ Still, he didn't utter a word in return as he removed himself from the wall for once.

"Good thing you're back," Max said happily once he and the others reached her spot. "I almost thought you'd never show up but now that you're here, we can all get started again."

"Yes, now I'm here." Hiromi's voice was heavy with impersonality. "I came to return the handkerchief to you, Max," she stated, producing a folded cloth from her pocket and handing it to the owner. "Thank you for lending it to me when my cheek was bleeding. You have nothing to worry about because I already removed the blood from it."

The happiness on Max's features was replaced with slight confusion. "Hiromi-chan, what's… going on? Why do you sound so formal?"

"And I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your kindness while it still lasted," Hiromi continued as though the blond hadn't spoken. "Good luck to your team's performance when the match comes."

Your_ team's performance?_ Kai mentally frowned. _It's like she's not counting herself as one of us._

"Why do you make it sound so final?" Rei asked. "We're your friends, Hiromi-san. You can tell us anything."

"All right. You guys just don't get it, do you." Suddenly Hiromi's face lost expression. "From this point on, I'm completely cutting my ties with you."

"What!" everyone minus Kai cried out.

"I said, from this point on, I'm completely cutting my ties with you. Is that too hard to hear?"

"We heard you say it but we don't know _why_ you said it." Even Rei, a guy of a calm demeanor, now looked bewildered.

"I need to have my own skill and individuality," she stated in a dispassionate fashion. "You guys are inhibiting my growth and development, if you must know."

"Wait, it doesn't make any sense," Kyouju protested, confused like everyone else. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I've said all I came here to say. Good bye." She turned on her heel and started walking away.

"This has nothing to do with skill or individuality and you know it," Kai stated out loud to emphasize his point. "Because your sudden decision has a lot to do with your fight with Kinomiya."

Hiromi froze, then spun around to shoot a harsh glare at Kai, who met it without a flinch. "You don't know—"

Hiromi never finished what she was about to say as she suddenly seemed unstable on her feet, her back leaning against the wall while starting to slump, eyes closed. A gloved hand started to reach to catch her arm but all of a sudden her slightly raised foot immediately settled on the floor, catching her balance right on time and she steadied herself. For a while her body stiffened.

"Hiromi-san!" Kyouju cried as everyone else checked on her condition. "Are you okay?"

Slowly her eyes opened. "Yeah." Her gaze roamed at each guy's faces. "I think I should go now."

"Wait, Hiromi-san. It doesn't have to end like this," Rei tried to convince. "We know you're hurt because of what Takao did to you but it isn't enough reason for you to suddenly want to have nothing to do with us."

"I agree with Rei," Max said. "You can't just throw your relationship with us just like that. We've been together at all times, good or bad, and this is one of those bad times. As you can see, we still stick to the training schedule you gave us even though you told us not to."

"You still do, huh." Suddenly her eyes became distrustful. "Why are you guys still following that schedule? Don't you want to get off that trouble?"

"Why?" Max seemed surprised and confused at the same time. "It's because you made it for us, Hiromi-chan. We know you're trying to help us by coming up with that training and we don't want it to go to waste."

A scowl crossed her features. "Don't bother, Max. I know the truth already. There's no point in denying that you hate it as much as Takao did."

"We don't hate it, Hiromi-chan."

"Max is right and it's not trouble," Rei agreed, handing Hiromi his copy of the training schedule. "You should take a look and remember the effort and dedication you spent here just to come up with something which can hone ourselves."

"I'm with him." Kyouju nodded while she stared at the paper in her hands. "The BBA Team had been making great progress since the day we started your training."

"Well, it's obviously a mistake. Takao made it perfectly clear the last time."

Hiromi finally looked up just in time for Kai to catch the strange glint in her eyes. And without hesitation she quickly ripped the sheet in two right in front of them. Not yet satisfied, she piled the two halves and tore them at the middle.

"Hiromi-san, what do you think you're doing?" Kyouju cried out as everyone remained shocked. But it was too late. Four uneven ripped pieces of paper drifted uselessly to the floor.

Kai frowned, a part of his mind still on that strange glint. "What did you do that for?"

Hiromi stared hard at each of them. "Listen. I know you guys want me to smile but don't think I'm not aware that you're doing it out of pity because I don't need it, got that?"

"Hiromi-chan, it's not because of pity," Max protested. "We're your friends!"

"Some friends you guys are—" Her words were cut off as she started staggering to her side, looking like she was about to collapse.

Kai immediately planted his hand on the wall, his outstretched arm catching Hiromi by her upper half just in time.

"Hiromi-san, are you all right?" Rei asked in concern.

Hiromi slowly opened her eyes and was off Kai's arm in an instant. "It's nothing."

"Are you sure?" Max big blue eyes were swimming in worry.

"I don't see why you guys bother to care," Hiromi muttered under her breath. "Well, don't. I don't want to see you guys again." Then without another word she walked away from them, this time maintaining her balance.

Rei watched her go. "Do you think we should follow her?"

"I don't know," Max replied. "I'm not that convinced that she's really okay but maybe we should give her space. She's just how Takao had been; it's her hurt and anger speaking, not her." Then he frowned. "Although I'm a little worried. She sounded like she really means it."

"Takao's remarks must have scarred her more than we have thought."

Kai gazed at the ground, the scene about the ripping of the paper playing in his mind before he looked up. "You two, go back to practice."

Rei shot him a questioning look but Kai ignored it. Max just shrugged before he went back to the beystadium, followed by the Chinese boy who took his position on the opposite side of the dish. Meanwhile Kyouju positioned himself somewhere outside it where he could get a perfect view of the beybattle.

For a few minutes, Kai watched his teammates yell commands at their beyblades, with Kyouju making comments on their moves once in a while. But no matter how hard he tried focusing on the beybattle, his mind kept replaying the same paper-tearing scene over and over again. Bending to pick up the four pieces of what used to be a written training schedule, a captured moment flashed before him.

That glint.

The more Kai stared at the pieces in his hands, the more he thought about the glint, and the more unimportant the training seemed to be at the moment. He stuffed the papers in the pocket of his pants.

And finally reached a decision, heading out of the dojo.

* * *

"Where's Kai going?" Max watched his teammate with dual-colored hair walk out of the gate.

"Probably to follow Hiromi-san," Rei replied without even turning away.

"But didn't we decide to give her space?"

"I think we should let Kai on this one." Catlike eyes never left Driger driving Draciel along the rim of the beystadium. "If there's anyone who knows what he's doing, it's him."

"Yeah, I guess. Hey!" Max exclaimed, suddenly realizing he was already starting to be defeated by his opponent. "No fair, Rei!"

"Well, nobody told you to keep your eyes off the beybattle. You don't know what kind of stunt your opponent will pull off in the middle of the match. Finish the battle, Driger!"

"I didn't intend to but thanks for the reminder anyway. Go Draciel!"

_

* * *

_

_Where did she go? _

After what seemed to be more or less an hour, Kai still couldn't find Hiromi. He leaned against the lamppost right next to a ramen shop near a street. Cars passing through before him, people walking along or crossing the streets, noises of yelling people just around a corner—not exactly a convenient place for someone who refused to admit she was anything but fine to hang out.

Putting the strange glint aside, the gray-eyed teen's thoughts raced back further to concentrate on a main point. It nearly made Kai wonder how even in a less than quiet area such as where he was now he could still hear Hiromi's emotionless words resound in his mind's ears as well as the words he said that hit a bull's eye. To have her own skill and individuality? _Don't make me laugh. Does she take us for fools?_ Her weak antics of pretension didn't impress him.

"Do you really expect me to believe you, huh?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about!"

Someone ran past Kai as though expecting to witness a commotion but he ignored him. The more the beyblader thought about it, the more it seemed that Hiromi wasn't her normal self ever since her big fight with Takao. _Why can't she just admit to herself that it had a great effect on her? It's obvious._

"Liar!"

"I did nothing! It's the truth!"

"Right. Give back what you took, _thief!_"

"Stop calling me that! Let go of me!"

The yelling of people just around the corner. Two people. The words by now were too loud and distinct for Kai to ignore, and all his current thoughts were cut short. _Wait a minute._

Suddenly he took off and went around the corner, right to be met by a thin wall of curious onlookers. Pushing his way through, he stopped.

Ahead of him was a thin young man with glasses, a threatening look on his accusatory face.

And in his tight grasp was a wrist belonging to a person in pink and white.

* * *

**I never thought I'd get this far after _retyping_ the _entire_ chapter. -curses the computer for causing unforgivable errors- It's like what happened to one of my fics, only this time it was just worse that I nearly cried. **

**Anyway, before I forget, it seems that there's some rule about _ch_ and _t_ in Japanese (like in the case of _Tachibana_ vs _Tatibana_) but as I'm not totally familiar with it, I'm sticking to _Tachibana_ in this fic to make things more consistent.**

**So what do you think? Please leave a review, people. You know how much each means to an author. Thanks! :)**


	6. Worries and Suspicions

**DISCLAIMER:** As much as I'd love to own Kai and the rest of the cast, I can't because they belong to Aoki Takao. I'd be rich otherwise.

**Regarding its angle of romance, I've decided to turn it into a Kai x Hiromi x Takao triangle. I think I already mentioned that either pairing (TxH or KxH) sounds fine to me. Hence, I'm considering making two endings for this; I mean, they both have equally strong chances. **

**Many thanks to Sara, Kais Devil, Ryuu no Taiyo, jeweljade, Monarch, HikariAotsuki, Notsayin, Noname, memememememe, Kai'sTheBest and Darksunshine01 for reviewing! I'm very, super, beyond, ultra, etc. sorry for posting this just now! Peace?  
**

**Hope you enjoy! **

* * *

OPENING PANDORA'S JAR

ChApTeR 6

* * *

_What the hell?_ It was only moments ago that Kai thought about Hiromi but it seemed as if his mind's image had conjured her in response to his will. Well, he got what he wanted. But this scene situating the object of his search in a controversial spotlight was far from what he was expecting.

"I don't know what the crap you're saying but I'm completely innocent!"

"You really have a lot of nerve showing up here but do you take me for a fool?"

"Are you having a problem with my friend?"

Hiromi turned, eyes widening at Kai's sudden appearance.

"Your friend? Why don't you ask her that?" The guy pushed back his nearly falling glasses, obviously not recognizing who Kai really was.

"How many times do I have to tell you I didn't take anything?" Hiromi tried pulling herself free but to no avail.

Kai's gaze rested on the struggling brunette, then back on the young man. "What's going on?"

"What's going on? This thief," he stressed, pulling Hiromi by the wrist, "stole a couple of sodas just yesterday." His attention was shifted immediately back to the girl. "Now that I caught you, you are so dead!"

"I don't know about those sodas! Why don't you believe me?"

Kai watched this exchange for a while. "And when specifically do you think she did it?"

"_Think_? I _know _and she did it yesterday afternoon!"

A flash of memory shot through Kai's mind. Yesterday afternoon… A speeding girl in pink and white. The smirk. The look of satisfaction…

"Why would I steal when I could just buy?" Hiromi yanked her hand but winced instead at the tightening grip. "I don't even remember passing here!"

"Hah! A likely story as I would expect. Unfortunately on a scale of one to ten, I'd give that a negative three. We'll just see if the police and your parents would rate it even better."

"I know nothing! Let me go!"

"She didn't take it," Kai stated bluntly.

The store guy turned to him. "How would you know? Of course, I nearly forgot you're her friend. I expect you to try bailing her out but you don't have anything proving her innocence."

"And neither do you about her guilt," he returned. "I challenge you to show your store's video camera catching her in the act." At the accuser's hesitation, the former leveled him with a challenging stare. "So why don't you?"

The wall of certainty was starting to crack. "It's not for me to decide to have one. I'm just an employee."

"Then don't make random accusations without any concrete evidence."

"I'm sure it was her! I saw her with my own two eyes dashing off with the sodas in her hands."

"Have your eyes checked. Many girls come and go here or pass by. I won't be surprised if you got them all mixed up and mistaken them for each other. You weren't wearing your glasses yesterday, were you." In truth Kai had no idea whether or not the guy did but whatever; he would win this kind of argument with one of his strengths he could play the best to his advantage in combination with his logic: intimidation.

And with the way the employee's expression shifted uncomfortably, it just proved Kai's words. But it looked like he had no intention of giving up. "I know it was her! I saw her and she was wearing those exact clothes!" he insisted, pointing at Hiromi's pink top and white skirt to prove his point.

"We don't need this," Kai muttered under his breath. "She didn't take anything. Get that through your thick head."

The employee let out a growl. "Why you—"

"And just to clear your mind on how ridiculous your accusation is, what thief in his or her right mind would pass by the _same_ store in the _same exact clothes_ right on the _following day_?"

For a moment, Hiromi's accuser was at a loss for words. "A stupid one, I suppose," he retorted finally, refusing to let his pride be stepped on.

_And I thought Kinomiya was a stubborn guy._ Kai quickly brought out some money, shoving it at the grocery guy's free hand. "For the loss. Keep the change." His hands ripped off the latter's hand from Hiromi's wrist.

"Ha!" he exclaimed in triumph. "So you're admitting your friend's crime after all."

"Just to shut you up. We're in a hurry."

"No way—"

"_Listen_." Looking straight into the employee's eyes, gray orbs turned into cold deadly steel, and so did Kai's voice. "Her mother is in a very critical condition right now and is scheduled for an operation as I speak. More than anything she needs a lot of moral support. If my friend doesn't get to the hospital on time because _you_ are holding her back and something happens to her mom, rest assured that I'll come back to make sure you won't see the next sunrise." His voice had a dangerous edge to it, and he knew the intense glare he was shooting was positively poisonous.

Though his face was completely rigid, a flash of terror passed through the employee's eyes. The reaction good enough for him, Kai snatched back the money, took Hiromi by the wrist and began dragging her along with him, leaving the grocery guy drained of color. His feet moved in a brisk walk but soon were gaining speed while his hold on Hiromi tightened.

"Kai, you're hurting me!"

Kai ignored her, and also the rest of the curious looks people around them were giving. He kept on walking, Hiromi being dragged from behind, until he found a secluded alley and went inside. Once he found the amount of privacy enough, he let go of the brunette, practically throwing her right at the wall. "What the _hell's with you_?"

"What do you mean, 'what the hell's with you?'" Hiromi demanded back, gingerly rubbing her wrist with a nearly red handprint on it. "Do you also believe I stole those sodas from that grocery store? I told you, I told him, I know nothing!"

"Then why the hell would that grocery guy accuse you of theft if there wasn't anything up? I know there's something you're not telling me, and I want it out now."

"Hold a sec. You saved my skin and dragged me all the way here so you can charge me in turn? I don't have anything to admit to anybody, least of all to you, Kai." Hiromi crossed her arms over her chest, meeting his glare with her own in indignation. "I'm not tied to you or your team anymore so I don't have to answer to you. Especially on actions that I have nothing to do with."

"You're not getting off this case so easily, Hiromi. Not after I saw you running away yesterday in the rain like you enjoyed what you did before that."

"Not after I… what?" Suddenly the girl was hushed, indignation forgotten as confusion took over.

Kai hesitated for a while, a voice inside him telling him to listen carefully to Hiromi's actions. _Now she's in deep thought._

Finally she snapped out of it. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kai studied her closely. The girl seemed to be genuinely confused. _Maybe I should believe her…_

But then he caught sight of a bulge inside Hiromi's bag. Almost recognizing the shape, his suspicions were aroused, and with one swipe, he snatched the bag and began rummaging through it.

"What the hell—Kai, give me back my bag!" Hiromi tried to grab it but Kai was too quick and dodged it out of the way. Furious, she lunged at it, but he held it high above her reach.

He wasn't counting, however, that he noted how physically close she was to him when she leaned over, a little too much, in her effort of determination to retrieve what belonged to her. But that certain moment was only temporary.

"I said, give me back my bag!"

Just in time, Kai maneuvered his hand down and yanked out a paint spray. One fit for a good job of vandalism. "With the price tag still on? What's the meaning of this?"

Hiromi's auburn hues widened, seeming to be filled with shock. "I—I don't know that. I've never seen that before."

Kai's eye narrowed as he continued to look through Hiromi's bag and was in masked complete disbelief when he pulled out another foreign object. Price tag still on. No receipt. "A pack of cigarettes? What are you trying to prove?" he demanded.

"I don't know how those things got there, I swear! They weren't in my bag before! Or… at least the last time I checked it."

Kai's expression remained unchanged.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I didn't take those things or anything else! Why don't you believe me!" She turned away, suddenly appearing desperate and pleading, just like the Hiromi he saw before the big fight ever happened. "Why doesn't anybody do lately?" she whispered almost to herself.

"Hiromi—"

"Well, forget it." Hiromi spun around and grabbed her bag out of Kai's hand, her hard mask back into place again. "If you don't want to believe me, then don't. I don't need your thoughts, your opinion, or anyone else's for that matter. In fact, I don't need your help and I could have gotten myself out of that case with the grocery guy earlier if only you hadn't interfered."

"And if I hadn't, you'd probably be pleading at the police station by now."

"I don't need you or anyone, got that, Kai!" Suddenly Hiromi stumbled back, breathing heavily from the effort of stressing out that last statement too much, looking dizzy.

Kai started reaching out for her. "Not feeling well?"

"I'm fine." Hiromi leaned heavily against the wall, staring down, eyes closed. Then she started slowly sliding down again.

"You're lying." Kai took hold of her growing hot wrist before she could slide down any further. "Your wrist is burning. Go home."

The girl went stiff at the contact and raised herself again, pulling her wrist away from Kai's grasp. "I said I'm _fine_," she snapped. "I can go home without anyone's help, damn it!" But then her features softened a bit. "I can go home on my own. I… think I have to go now."

Kai's eyes traveled along with Hiromi, watching her make an exit from the alley and back to the lively streets once more. One side was pushing him to go and follow his friend to investigate her more. But at the same time…

_Get some rest, Hiromi. _The male beyblader followed her out, watching the girl with chocolate hair carefully walk past him. _You'll need it to answer me with everything you know._

What he failed to see was a strange smile that broke across Hiromi's face.

* * *

"All right!" Takao gave a shout of joy after receiving the result of his Math exam on Monday. His paper showed a grade a little higher than the standard passing mark. Ahead of him were his classmates, some exchanging high-fives with each other, some sulking in their seats while others were just plain relieved to have passed. _I'm saved!_

"I take it you didn't fail?" Kyouju was smiling as he looked up from his paper that obviously contained a higher grade.

"Yup." Takao held up his paper in pride for Kyouju to see. All those hardships he had endured for two long nights instead of one—they finally paid off. Remembering the red failing marks of his past exams when he had just studied the night before, he almost winced. And just days ago he knew he would fail. Studying earlier could do him wonders after all.

"Takao, you did it!"

Startled, Takao turned and found Hiromi _smiling_ down at him. Confused at the unexpected reaction from her, he blinked.

And saw no one.

_What the…_ Takao shook his head. Was that just a figment of his imagination? He turned to look at Hiromi's seat.

It was still empty.

* * *

_No way. This can't be happening!_ Hiromi stared at the thermometer between her fingers, not wanting to believe. But against what she had hoped, the reading showed a result higher than the normal body temperature. _I'm not sick, I'm _not sick_, there's no way I'm sick…_ she chanted silently to herself. From an article of some magazine or book she recalled she had read something about the power of mind over matter, so this _could_ work, right? _Whatever I'm feeling right now is just psychological. I'm okay. I feel fine. Never better! I'm not sick at all._ But she still felt awful.

_No, I can't be sick!_ Hiromi groaned, returning to her lying position in bed. It was bad enough that she was feeling weird already but what made it even worse was that she didn't know why and _how_ she ended up like this. She could dimly remember how tired she was when she went to the dojo but it sure was nothing compared to her current situation now.

_I can't stay here. I must go to school!_ She still had to inquire about that exam Kyouju had mentioned, whatever that was, and catch up what she had missed for the past few days. But how was she supposed to do those when she couldn't even leave her own house?

She stole a glance at her clock, which read past ten in the morning. Had her mother bought it for her? Sitting up, she turned and something behind her bed caught her eye. Since when did she start having a bird figure inside her room? Weird, just like that doormat and the chairs in the dining room Hiromi couldn't recall seeing before. Not to mention the living room which seemed to have undergone a renovation or something. Odd. It wasn't like her mother to sudden replace the stuff inside their house but she could have at least let her daughter know. Hiromi felt like she was staying at someone else's house. It was starting to be difficult feeling like a stranger in her own home.

_At least she doesn't know that I'm not well._ It was amazing how she managed to fool her mom yesterday night and this morning. Good thing she did a fine job of hiding how she really felt as she left for school but along the way she couldn't take it any longer. Just in time as she returned to her home, her mother had left already. Hiromi knew today the latter wouldn't return until late afternoon, just the time for Hiromi to be supposedly back home. The last thing the brunette needed and wanted was for her mom to get all worried about her, because worrying would mean asking how she had been for the past few days which would lead to how Takao treated her, something she didn't feel like talking about, and how trying to cope with that somehow ended her up getting a slight fever instead which she had no idea how to explain it in the first place. But she didn't want any of that; she must take care of herself and make sure she was already well before late afternoon and prove her health because she was going to school for real tomorrow. She had to.

_No, she mustn't know anything. Not when I myself can't sort it out. _

* * *

"Glad to know you weren't late today, Takao," Kyouju said the following day. While the teacher for the next class hadn't arrived, everyone else was doing his or her own thing, mostly talking or exchanging stories with a fellow classmate.

"Don't remind me." A groan followed before Takao stifled a yawn. "Jiichan had decided to generously take the liberty of waking me up so early today. You'd think the school bell rings at dawn or something."

"Oh well. Miracles _can_ happen sometimes."

"Don't you mean unusual stuff?" _Like me reaching the classroom on time? Or like—_

He stopped, stealing a glance at the class president's seat. Like Hiromi coming to class late by twelve minutes. Not only that, there were dark bangs underneath her eyes, her dull brown hair was quite disheveled, and Takao could've sworn her skin was practically glowing in paleness. She looked terrible.

Right now she was sitting on her own seat, resting her head silently on her folded arms for a pillow on her desk. Like really tired and sleepy. She almost looked sick. Takao's brown eyes fell on the happily chatting kids inside the classroom, a world he was in right now, and then back on her.

Hiromi was just alone. And was lifeless.

_No way._ Damn, why was he even taking note of how she was doing? He shouldn't even be paying any attention to her. Besides, if she knew she wasn't feeling well, then forcing herself to attend class was a pretty stupid move. Maybe Hiromi was only getting what she deserved. _Serves her right for all the crap she did to me._ The idea of _him_ starting to give a _care_ on what was happening to _her_ was leaving a bad taste in his mouth. Pitiful. _She's just pitiful._

The door slid open to reveal the teacher's arrival, and everyone abandoned all nonacademic activity to get ready to listen. Glad as Takao was for the distraction, he couldn't help noticing Hiromi cover a yawn before forcing herself to sit up straight. Did that mean he was softening already?

Yeah, right. He would rather eat hard glass.

Now why did the answer have to feel half-hearted?

* * *

_I think I need a break._ Takao stood up to stretch every muscle of his body, removing himself from his desk inside his original bedroom. His neck, eyes and arms had practically gone stiff from studying Science tonight and his stomach growled on cue to his thought. _Potato chips, here I come._

"Takao?" Rei's voice called from the other side of the sliding door. "Someone wants to talk to you on the phone. It's a girl."

_A girl? Why would a girl be calling me?_ "Thanks!" he called back. Rei's footsteps faded soon as the Japanese boy went out of his room and he spotted him back to practicing again. A pang of jealousy hit him for a moment. He should be training with his Chinese friend now but no, he was still grounded and forced to study even harder than before. Ignoring the momentary feeling, he headed straight to the kendo practice area and picked up the carefully hung receiver. "Hello?"

"Hello, Kinomiya-kun? This is Mayu, your classmate."

"Oh, hi." Takao remembered the petite brunette with shoulder-length hair. "What made you call?"

"Listen, is Hiromi there by any chance?"

Takao stared at the receiver in disbelief. There were so many things wrong with that question that he didn't know where to begin. "No… Why do you ask?" _And why ask _that_, of all the possible questions to begin with?_ Why was he being haunted by Hiromi all the time?

"She was supposed to stay with us tonight. Well, for the rest of the week actually. Our moms are friends with each other, you see. Her mom has some important matters to attend to but she'll be gone for eight days, so she asked if she could leave Hiromi under my mom's care in her absence. We're okay with her request and all… except that she didn't meet my mom. I didn't see her since I was absent today in class and I can't leave the house."

Weird. "Have you tried calling her at her house?"

"I just did before I called you but no one picked up. My mom even went there past seven already but she said there wasn't anyone at home. I thought she might have gone to your place. I mean, I see her hanging out a lot with you and Kyouju."

"Not lately…" Takao frowned. It must be almost nine or ten by now. And it definitely wasn't like Hiromi to just go off somewhere without letting the right people know. _This is getting more odd by the minute._ "Like I said, she's not here. Listen, try calling everyone you think she knows. Maybe Kyouju has heard from her or something." Damn it, he had lost control over his mouth.

"Kyouju, I see. May I have his number? I'll also give you mine in case you have news about Hiromi."

Takao recited his friend's number over the phone and scribbled Mayu's number on his hand, planning to jot it down on paper later.

"Thanks. Well… I guess there's nothing we can do but wait. Good night, Kinomiya-kun."

"Mayu, wait!"

"Yes?"

Takao hesitated. "Hiromi… Was she really supposed to meet your mom?"

"Supposed, yes."

And the line went ominously dead.

* * *

**Next chapter will probably have more Kai x Hiromi interaction than Takao x Hiromi. Would you like to see...? **

**Please leave a review. Thanks! **


	7. I Won't Let You Out of My Sight

**DISCLAIMER:** As much as I'd love to own Kai and the rest of the cast, I can't because they belong to Aoki Takao. I'd be rich otherwise.

**To all readers and reviewers of this fic, I'm extremely sorry for taking such a long time to update. Please don't curse me; it's hard to get inspired to write when you have more urgent things to attend to, you know (not that it's my first choice recently). But your reviews brought out my writing spirit again, so a million thanks to you! I hope this chapter would make up for the delayed update, especially for those who are into the KxH pairing. This must be my favorite chapter so far.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

OPENING PANDORA'S JAR

ChApTeR 7

* * *

It was just too futile to even keep on trying.

This time too tired to even keep gray eyes closed, Kai stared at the ceiling that he couldn't even see. Not without turning the lights on anyway. But he had no intention on waking up everyone else just because he couldn't sleep. Just because he was preoccupied with something.

And this preoccupation kept on manifesting itself more often than not. It came in the form of a familiar girl in pink and white who seemed out of herself lately. Kai mentally frowned, remembering the recent cases of theft that seemed to have connections with Hiromi. It was just like what happened during Takao's issued beybattle challenge at the beach: She sounded genuinely truthful about what she was claiming but all concrete evidences proved otherwise. Like those couple of sodas. The insomniac beyblader hated to admit it but that total stranger of a store clerk was actually more credible, especially after the strange way Hiromi was acting lately. Kai could never forget the smirk he had seen from her before. Neither could he forget the paint spray, the cigarettes… Whatever the girl had intended to do with them after, the fact that they were found with price tags on and no receipt smacked of theft.

He was aware that he didn't know Hiromi completely but he knew it wasn't in her nature to go this far. _Or is it?_ People can change; Kai knew this more than anyone else. After all, he was a perfect example of it, although it was certainly for the better. So what did this mean about the girl in his mind? That what happened to her was so much for her that she responded by playing rebellious as an outlet?

The different thoughts crowding much in his head, Kai couldn't stand just lying down on his _futon_. His glance fell on Max's glow-in-the-dark alarm clock right next to him. Twelve o' clock. He got up, ensured Dranzer and his shooter in his pocket, scribbled a note, and walked out of the dojo for a walk. To where his feet would lead him, it didn't matter, just as long as he could sort out his mind. After that, he could use a little practice if time allowed him.

Since it was so late already, Kai wasn't surprised to see no one along the way. All the better. The last time he had gone out alone and practiced, someone had been keeping an eye on him to defeat him. Soon, Dranzer's wielder found himself heading toward the bridge, one of the few places where any of the reigning beyblade champions would normally gravitate to.

But before he could reach the place, someone had already beaten him in occupying it. Still, Kai took his steps even closer to make out the silhouette practicing with a beyblade, only to see that it was a girl, an awfully familiar girl with brown tresses…

* * *

_Went out for a walk. I'll be back soon. Don't wait up. –Kai _

Takao's brown eyes swept through the same words for the third time. Maybe he wasn't repeating reading the note just more than enough. It was just like counting sheep—count and count until you knock yourself senseless out of sheer boredom. But that silly technique was just for insomniac kids. Takao had wasted enough time already, willing to try anything else to put him back to peaceful dreamland.

If only he could.

After hanging up the phone, it had been hard for him to get some rest tonight. And when he finally had, all of a sudden he had waken up some time later without knowing why before he remembered everything. And even up to now, all his ears were hearing was that ominous click of the phone when Mayu had hung up.

And that was the last sound of the phone he had heard. Ever since their conversation, a part of him had kept on waiting for either Mayu or Kyouju to call but the phone never rang for the rest of the night. Takao had tried getting rid of that part by burying himself into studying, into trying to sleep, anything he could think of but it was killing him. Killing him with…

_Damn it, I'm not worried! So what if they didn't call? I don't care. And so what if Mayu said Hiromi wasn't home when she called? She could just be anywhere. It doesn't necessarily mean she was caught in some accident or something… Right? _

Not again.

He had to stop focusing on that girl and give his attention to something else if he didn't want to go insane. So earth orbs roamed around the natural scenery outside the floor of the dojo. But there was nothing that really demanded his attention. Finally he looked down—and found himself staring at the note he had found on the floor pinned by a rock. _So Kai couldn't sleep too, huh?_ Suzaku's master seemed to do that quite often.

Takao stared at his teammate's written words once more.

_Maybe Kai _did_ have the right idea after all,_ he mused. So he quietly changed clothes to take a walk as well. Even if he had to do it so slowly to fall asleep on the way.

* * *

_Hiromi?_ What the hell did she think she was doing at a deserted area like this in such a late hour? Had she completely lost her mind?

That was also another reason of Kai for suspicion. Another of her unusual stunts lately.

"I must make this work," Hiromi was saying firmly to herself, watching Pithos create zigzag moves at moderate speed.

"It will never work out that way."

Hiromi whirled. By the way her face contorted in surprise, Kai could tell he was the last person she expected to see. "Kai!" But then the surprise was quickly washed away when her expression hardened. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Kai coolly crossed his arms over his chest. "I can ask you the very same question. But if you must know, I went out for a walk." His response was followed by a serious stare. "Now, your turn."

"None of your business." Her answer just as terse as her face, the girl returned his stare with a glare matching his. In all the months that Kai had known her, Hiromi had never talked to him like that.

But as if he was about to be intimidated just like that. Hiromi knew better than to put Kai to the test in his very own department. And to prove his point, he kept his stare just as serious, his silence adding to the growing heavy strain he was giving her.

The chocolate-haired beyblader exhaled sharply, looking away from him. "Fine. I want to train. Practice. Big deal." When she faced him again, it was clear in her icy auburn eyes that she didn't want him there. "You got your answer. Now go away. You're making me lose a good amount of the only time I can do it."

"Practicing in the middle of the night?" It was then that he noticed how paler her skin seemed than usual, how watery her reddish-brown orbs were. Was it just him or was she starting to shiver a little?

"Now what are you talking about? It's only past seven, you know."

"It's past _midnight_." What was _she_ talking about?

"Stop joking, will you? I left the house before seven and I just got here like around five minutes ago." For a while, she studied his expression as though to assess his intention. "Unless you couldn't admit that you've gotten the time mixed up. Trying to pass it as a joke is not like you at all, Kai."

"I never joke." There it was again. That familiar sense of something wrong. Kai knew he would remain restless until he figured out what it was. "Past seven or not, it's dangerous for someone like you to practice alone at night of all times. If you want to practice so badly, then do it while there's still daylight."

The brunette scoffed at his words. "And who are you to dictate me on what to do? The only dictator around here is _me_, remember?" Her eyes flashed at the last statement. "If I want to kill myself training until I feel indifferent about it, then I will. You can't order me around! Not you, not Rei, not Max, especially not Takao."

At the mention of the navy-haired teen's name, Kai didn't miss the nearly veiled pain reflected on her voice, fully getting the message underneath it. Takao was synonymous to beyblading, and by beyblading, Hiromi would get hurt by being reminded of the world champion's insincere remarks about her. Yet she was willing to beyblade over and over again until she got used to the pain of the memory before turning numb. And aside from no longer feeling the pain, she might improve a lot in her desire to achieve her goal. Two birds with one stone. Kai nearly marveled at her determination to still stand up despite being pelted by his grounded teammate's verbal assaults.

But still, Takao's harsh words were obviously big blows against Hiromi. In the meantime that she acted so cold to everyone, the brunette clearly wasn't over the impact that she had received, and it sure hurt a lot. A big deal of suffering on her part. Even someone like Kai could make that prediction. He wasn't _that_ indifferent even though he appeared to be. He was just better at hiding his thoughts and sensitivity.

Besides, whether or not Hiromi was going to succeed, to pull off her plan in the middle of the night was just purely impractical. Kai had always thought of Hiromi as the type who would look before taking a leap but tonight was an obvious exception. And since no one else knew about this irrational, not to mention ludicrous, plan of hers, as her friend, he might as well shake some sense into her right now. "Your parents. Don't tell me they don't have a say about what you're doing now."

"Leave my parents out of this," she hissed. "Like I said before, I don't have to answer to you, Kai. I already cut ties with your team."

"Maybe. But that doesn't mean I also cut my ties with you."

Her stony eyes softened, doubt, hope and anger competing with each other for domination, and for a moment, Kai wondered if he had gone a little too far. In his vocabulary, it sounded more personal than he had intended. He could have just spoken for the entire team, couldn't he?

But he chose to ignore that moment as it seemed like it was having an effect on Hiromi. An effect he could use to his advantage to make her spill direct answers.

"You're always like this, Kai. Always following me around." A hard tone. "Why are you wasting your time doing this to me when you could simply deny my existence just like the rest of your team?"

"I said I didn't cut ties with you. Don't make me repeat myself."

For a while, the display of conflict of emotions reflected itself in her eyes. Kai waited.

After a very long moment, Hiromi seemed civilized with him. Good.

"They're out of town for an urgent matter for several days."

They just _left_ her? Alone? Now what kind of parent would do such a thing to his only daughter while being away? Even his grandfather, as evil and uncaring as he was, always knew his whereabouts all the time. "They just went off like that?"

"Not really. I'm…" Hiromi stopped for a while. "I'm supposed to stay at someone's house in the meantime."

Someone's house. Despite her plan, which Kai wasn't sure if it would work or not, _someone's house_ apparently wouldn't be referring to the Kinomiya dojo. Even though he was sure Hiromi would most likely not want to go, Kyouju's house or the Mizuhara residence would be more probable choices but Kai wanted to hear the answer from the brown-haired girl's lips. "Who's that someone?"

Hiromi looked away.

"Who's that someone, Hiromi?" he repeated a little firmly.

She was still trying to evade the question.

"Answer me, Hiromi," he ordered, his voice harder than he had intended to be. When Hiromi refused to reply, his stepped nearer to get eye contact but she was avoiding his gaze. He almost took her by her arms just to see her face. "Look me in the eye and tell me where you're staying at." But she shut her eyes tight in response, and realization hit him. "You didn't let your parents know, did you."

"They know but I don't!" Hiromi exclaimed, her eyes still shut tight. "I mean, I knew it before they left but I can't remember it now anymore! I've been trying to recall it for hours but it doesn't work! It's so confusing… Everything's so confusing…" Suddenly her eyes opened, filled with uncertainty, and pale hands clutched her head in an instant. "I don't know what's wrong with me! Something's going on but I don't know exactly what it is! I'm so confused… I feel incomplete… I just don't know, I just don't know!" The hard mask of bravery fallen already, she dropped to her knees, exposing a lost and vulnerable facet.

Kai didn't know how to handle this kind of situation. If this were about Takao, Max or Rei, he could talk any of them out of their misery without so much use of words. Direct to the point, that was his way. But with Hiromi's case, it was totally different for he knew no better than she did. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he knew he should comfort her, his female friend. If only he knew how.

Nonetheless he tried by kneeling beside her, yet still wondering if placing a comforting hand on her shoulder would be appropriate.

* * *

Still clutching her head, Hiromi was at loss on what to do. Everything was just making things worse—the extremely unpleasant events during the past days, the confusion on what was going on lately…

And she was exposing her vulnerability to Kai, someone whom she should hate. Someone who shouldn't be looking after her.

She had told him a million times before: She had nothing to do with his team anymore. If was for the best interest of everyone; after all, it wouldn't make a difference since they were better off without her, right? Despite this bitter thought, it had been hard for her to make such a big decision. Of course, initially she had argued with herself that it was only Takao who had said those mean words; it didn't necessarily mean that the entire team thought the same way. Hiromi had nearly backed out of her decision because of this possibility.

But then again, none of them had acknowledged that she had summoned a holy beast back then. If they couldn't trust her enough that she was telling the truth, how much more could they possibly trust her at all in more major issues? Like friendship? And more importantly, how could she even trust them to think of her as anything but what Takao had said? How could she even count that they were genuinely sincere instead of being merely polite and silent yet deep down sharing the same views as their teammate's?

No one could blame her for being sensitive.

Maybe she hadn't known it before, but maybe she had just been too blinded by happiness of a nonbeyblader being accepted by beyblade champions to notice that she had living through a lie for so long. A lie that she was part of their team. But she couldn't let it run the rest of her life. So she has planned to do her thing and be on her own. She was going to be Tachibana Hiromi, a real individual who succeeded with no help from anyone, especially from the BBA Team. If this meant being a self-taught beyblader, then so be it, and one day, she could prove to the whole world what she was really capable of. Until her goal was fulfilled, she didn't want to see any of the guys.

Yet a small part of her wanted to and kept wishing that the guys would go out of their way just to take her back as a sign that she still mattered. But at the same time, much of her didn't want to find out the result of meeting them again for she didn't know what would happen and what she was supposed to do if they didn't want her back this time.

_Remember what they did, Hiromi. Don't be the helpless party…_

She had thought before that she would never come down to this, but she should feel angry, not hurt or upset. Yes, both were negative in a sense, but with anger, she felt more like she had the control over the situation, not the other way around if she were to feel the hurt. Besides, she felt like she had a strong defense instead of being vulnerable to attacks.

But her defense had crumbled, exposing her vulnerability once more when Kai had shown up tonight. When he seemed concerned about her well-being. When he didn't deny her connection with the team, or, at least, with him. She hadn't been sure if it was for real. To believe him was so risky; she didn't want to get hurt all over again by false hope but she had wanted to believe what he was saying. And he really had seemed to be looking out for her, even after the harsh way she made her farewell to the team. Based on the way she knew the dual-haired beyblader, his recent display of words and actions meant going out of his way. Wasn't this what she wanted? It was…

_Be angry, Hiromi. Remember what they did._

_Kai is worried about you._

_It hurts now. It would hurt even more later._

_He may be telling the truth._

_Just because he said it doesn't mean the others will._

_Believe him. You know you want to…_

Suddenly she felt Kai's presence at her side, his hand hesitating to fall on her shoulder, and her confusion only grew. And it grew to the point that she wished Kai hadn't seen her tonight. Everything _had_ been clear when she had come alone here; she knew before what she should do. If Kai hadn't arrived… She turned her head to meet his face. Was he… trying to comfort her? _It's... _If _only_ he hadn't arrived…

"Despite that, you'd be better off at your house," he uttered. "It's safer there."

_It's too good to be true._ Her voice went sharp like a knife. "Careful, Kai. You're starting to sound like you care."

_Starting to sound like you care…_ Too late. She immediately wished she could take her words back when she saw Kai's hand stiffen almost on her shoulder and pull back while she sensed his internal flinch. His face didn't have to covey anything; he was turning his back on her now. Why the hell did she have to say that? Kai was actually showing that he cared, something she had hoped before and what did she do?

How could she have been so stupid?

* * *

_Starting to sound like you care…_ In stony silence, Kai stiffly turned to walk away from Hiromi. Why the hell _did_ he care? He should have known better than to go out of his way to make a stubborn and foolish girl like Tachibana Hiromi feel better. It was a really wrong decision from the start. He didn't expect thanks from her, but she didn't have to spit to his face something that had been difficult for him to openly show. Well, he would show no more. From now on, he would ignore her just like how he had when he first met her, and this time, he would no longer assist her or come to her aid no matter what happened to her. This was, after all, what she wanted.

"Kai, wait! I take back what I said! I didn't mean it!"

Choosing not to acknowledge her, he continued to walk away.

"Don't leave me until you hear me out! Please don't go!"

Her pleading voice came out so raw and scratchy that it made Kai halt, making him remember that she was physically ill. He nearly forgot. And not just physically unstable. _For her, she has no comrades left._ No, he couldn't ignore her like this.

"Please listen to me! It's just that you showed up at a time like this when you shouldn't…"

Kai's back still faced her.

"Your constant presence around me when everything's so confusing… I don't know anymore… Stop it… Go away! I'm not her!"

The strange and sudden shift of subject and tone made Kai whirl, and he caught sight of a frozen Hiromi clutching her head again. Something about this scene seemed quite familiar… Now where had he seen this before? "Hiromi—"

"I said, stop calling me that!" she cried out, not to him but to herself.

"Hiromi, tell me what's wrong!"

Suddenly she stopped, remaining silent for a few minutes. "It's nothing," she answered finally, lowering her hands.

One gray eye narrowed at the untruthful reply. Hiromi was obviously not all right, yet she refused to admit it. "It's _not_ nothing and you know it. Now get up."

"What... What are you planning to do?"

"Take you home."

Hiromi got on her feet but her eyes had hardened already. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here to practice…" But because she had gotten up so quickly, she seemed dizzy, and for a moment, her eyes seemed to lose focus while she nearly dropped herself to the ground.

Kai grabbed her arm before she could collapse. "How long do you plan pushing yourself to your limit? You're obviously sick."

The brunette tried to free her arm by pulling back hard but Kai wouldn't let her. "I'm not sick. Let me go!"

"Sure, you're not. Now don't be stubborn like Kinomiya and get some rest."

Finally she snapped. "Don't you compare me with him and I said, let me _go!_"

Kai's mind almost reeled at the last word that came out in a voice that didn't sound like Hiromi's at all. But before he could react any further, a sudden force struck his hand, and unintentionally he lost hold on Hiromi's arm, the pain doing a well job of distracting him. He realized the cause.

Pithos.

Meanwhile, Hiromi took advantage of the diversion and dashed past him.

_Oh no, you don't._ Kai mentally cursed while taking off after the girl who made it out of the bridge. Whatever reason Hiromi had for trying to get away from him, he knew he couldn't let her escape. Not when he had a lot of questions to be answered. The distance between the chaser and the chased started out as meters apart, but as seconds passed, the gap became narrower as Kai was gaining on her. Or rather, Hiromi was slowing down as her ill physique was becoming an apparent disadvantage for her.

But when Kai was about to catch up with her, she suddenly halted, whirled and faced him with a glare. Pithos zoomed past his feet from behind, causing him to stop on his tracks, and began spinning back and forth across Hiromi's path. Soon it picked up speed with that same motion and a wall of wind formed, separating Kai from her by several feet.

One gray eye narrowed, his hand picked up a nearby rock and hurled it at the barrier.

The rock never made past the wall in one piece.

Since when did Hiromi gain such control over her beyblade? And if she was capable of that, then why did she need to practice so badly?

_I have to know._ "Stop this, Hiromi!"

Hiromi's glare narrowed a little. "Make me."

_I'll make you,_ he vowed silently, pulling out his shooter and Dranzer which he launched immediately. "Go, Dranzer!"

The blue beyblade rushed forth, grinding on Pithos as the latter continued back and forth but it wasn't much of a success. Pithos remained undisturbed.

Kai's orbs flicked to the slopes, one leading to the park, the other to the riverside. If he was quick enough, he could use either path to get past the barrier while Dranzer distracted Pithos. But he realized navigating his way down and up would consume enough time for Hiromi to spot him in the meantime. Adding to the disadvantage was not knowing how much the wind could injure him after witnessing the fate of that rock.

No choice. A front assault was the only way. He looked up and could see Hiromi panting. On the other hand, he could wait for her to wear herself out but could he really allow himself to let her do that?

"Attack!" At his command, Dranzer slammed Pithos incessantly with much force while moving along with it. Pithos wouldn't budge, and Kai willed his beyblade to attack even harder. Dranzer was about to make a successful impact when it suddenly made contact with the wall and tiny blue fragments broke off from the assaulting beyblade. Kai almost stepped back but he would worry about Dranzer's damage later. Right now he had to get through first. "Continue to attack!"

Dranzer made swift hits at Pithos until the amethyst beyblade started wobbling. The cutting wind weakened a bit, and Kai took a step forward. _Come on. Keep it up. _His beyblade still battling against hers, Hiromi's shield of defense was thinning out already. When it seemed that the wind was tolerable enough, Kai hid his shooter, quickly moving forward to reach her side.

Hiromi's orbs went wild and she stepped back. "You…" When Kai approached her and started reaching out his hand, she slapped it away. "Don't touch me!" And with that, she spun to run away again.

_No, this isn't her. _This Hiromi before her wasn't the Hiromi he knew or, at least, the normal one he always saw. Kai didn't want to use force on her but if that was becoming the last resort, then he had no choice. Realizing she was about to escape again, he snatched her by one of her wrists, pulled her back and grabbed her other one. "Snap out of it!"

Hiromi tried to break free from his grip in an almost wild manner. "What do you think you're doing! Let me go!"

"Listen to me! You're out of yourself!"

The girl struggled against him while screaming, and Kai tried keeping her still. But neither of them realized in the process that they had been moving to the edge of the side of the path. Then Hiromi gasped as she lost her footing, and Kai found himself starting to fall along with her, apparently after losing his own balance at the same time.

His senses going active again, he swiftly pulled Hiromi close, wrapped one arm around her back, the other one to protect her head, and twisted himself so that he made contact with the green foliage first. Kai's hold on her tightened and he pressed her body against his to shield her better while they rolled down the grassy slope for what seemed to be a long time. Both beybladers landed on flat ground, and Kai stuck out an arm to serve as brake before they could go any further to the river itself.

Heaving a breath, he let himself drop to catch some short rest. After facing the ground for too long, slowly he raised his head. It was then that he realized he hadn't let go of Hiromi—and his current position was on top of her still form. He peered over her face and started removing his arm carefully, trying to see if she was all right.

Hiromi's head stirred for a while and slowly she opened her reddish-brown orbs. Kai thought he saw some light of recognition there but it diminished quickly as the girl pushed him hard and quickly sat up. "What the hell are you planning to do!" She tried to shove him away and claw at him but he caught her wrists on time. "Let me—"

Her sentence was cut off as Kai pinned her wrists behind her back and stilled her motions with a tight embrace. He felt her stiffen at the sudden contact. "Wake up... Hiromi."

For what seemed to be minutes, neither of them moved, and Kai wondered if his action worked or crashed into failure. Lately he had been doing a lot of wrist-grabbing, but it wasn't working much anymore to hold her back. If keeping her arms still wouldn't get her to calm down and stop thrashing about, he might as well send her to unconsciousness. He was running out solutions already.

"K-Kai…?"

Hiromi's voice sounded confused—and weak as well. Kai felt her body go limp in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder blade. Tight arms slowly loosened their hold on the exhausted form but not before feeling her skin burning. He had to hurry and bring her home.

But he saw a drop of water fall on Hiromi's pale arm, then another—both from the dark sky. Couldn't the rain have picked a more convenient time than now? Fortunately for him, after the tournament, Hiromi had toured the BBA Team around parts of the town they hadn't gone to before, including her own home, and he could still remember well the paths he had to take to reach it. But her home wasn't exactly near their spot right now. They wouldn't be able to make it there without getting wet. And that was the last thing Hiromi needed.

So instead he slid his arms below her legs and her back, lifted her and headed to the shelter he saw under the bridge. Carefully setting her down near its foot, he raced back up the slope to retrieve Dranzer, Pithos, and Hiromi's shooter, and slid his way down again to leave them beside the girl. Scanning Hiromi's clothes with his eyes, she didn't seem to have a handkerchief with her. Crap, neither did Kai. The rain was starting already, and until he could get his hands on the medicine Hiromi needed, the only thing he could do is to bring the fever down in any way he could. Improvise.

Then it hit him. Pulling off his dark gloves, he went to the river, soaked them in the cool water and wrung them. Then he returned to his friend, loosely wrapped each wet material around its metal guard, and placed one on her forehead, the other on her neck. Then he waited in silence for the rain to cease.

After about fifteen minutes or so, against Kai's wishes, the rain grew even harder. Not good. At all.

Hiromi kept stirring as though she was uncomfortable in her current position. Kai watched her for a few more moments, then sat down beside her and leaned against the wall. Then he positioned one leg lying flat on the ground with the other slightly drawn to his chest, and gently propped Hiromi's head near his stomach. Finally his eyes slowly closed, ready to give in to sleep.

"Pandora… Stop calling me that…"

And they snapped open, focusing on Hiromi in an instant. But she had stopped already and seemed to have fallen back to sleep again.

Pandora? What was there about that name? Why did Hiromi seem troubled about it? Somehow Kai had a faint feeling that whatever it was, he was, in some way, associated with the odd stuff he saw lately, and it was starting to bother him that he didn't know where he was supposed to be standing at. Answers were what he needed but obviously the brunette wasn't in the proper condition to provide them. Well then, he was going to ask her when she was well enough. For one last time, he stared at her sleeping form. _I'm getting as confused as you are._

_But until I figure out what's really going on, I won't let you out of my sight._

* * *

Somewhere nearby was the sound of falling rain. Although the loud patter was nothing compared to the throbbing in Hiromi's head.

Her eyelids wouldn't obey her properly, not to mention her body feeling she had run over a mile or received a good beating. And why did the temperature suddenly drop? The last thing she had felt before was as though she was on fire.

But she forced her eyes to open. At first they lost focus, then regained it until it centered itself on something, a boy's face looking down at her… Kai's face. Even in his sleep, he was still wearing wariness—like he was guarding an important treasure or something similar. _Why is he sleeping here? Wait. Why am_ I_ sleeping here?_ From her position on his stomach, she glanced further… Why couldn't she see Kai's gloves? Why was she shivering anyway? Was she sick again? _Hold on._ Right now she couldn't think properly. Her current position wasn't giving her much comfort anymore.

It was hard for her to sit up as though a magnet was pulling her body back to the ground again, but she managed, not wanting Kai to wake up. Something fell from her forehead but she ignored it. She tried to lean but the wall was too rigid against her aching head. So she turned to Kai's shoulder and rested her forehead, her body trembling. _A sweater, a jacket, a blanket, anything… _

But she felt him move a little, and when she removed herself from him, she watched his eyes slowly opening. Oh no, she woke him up. Rubbing her arms, she tried for comfort, but her hands felt hot and cold at the same time across her skin. With each move she made, she felt like being shoved by someone hard to her side.

Kai's focus was directed at her. "You're shaking."

Hiromi tried to answer but her teeth were chattering already. Still, she managed to form her reply. "I-It's cold."

Kai seemed to be studying her in silence. After a few minutes of hesitation, he motioned to the space before him. "Just this once."

With all the remaining strength she had, Hiromi crawled on fours and settled on the said space. Meanwhile, Kai wrapped his bare arms around her, his action giving the soothing warmth she had been longing since she woke up. Even with his hands still, she realized he was trying to keep her warm, but at the moment Hiromi didn't care whether or not it was still part of Kai's nature. Right now, she would give anything for comfort. Every time she shivered, gloveless hands would rub her arms once in a while.

Then his voice came behind her. "When the rain stops, I'm taking you home."

This time, Hiromi was too tired to even think of a reply. Nestled in Kai' warm arms, soon she lost awareness of the cold rain and succumbed to her own slumber.

* * *

_No…_ He couldn't believe it. _No way… Hiromi and… Kai?_

* * *

**I'll leave that last line to work on your imagination. Until the next chapter anyway. Please leave a review, thanks!**


	8. Tension Beneath

**DISCLAIMER:** As much as I'd love to own Kai and the rest of the cast, I can't because they belong to Aoki Takao. I'd be rich otherwise.

**I'm back! Let me begin by thanking everyone who reviewed/added this in his or her favorite stories/story alert list. You've done wonders for my drive to write the past seven chapters. **

**-looks at status details- I'm extremely, absolutely, deeply sorry for uploading this chapter only now! I didn't realize that I hadn't updated this fic in years. Well, to be honest, aside from suffering writer's block, I've moved on to other anime series. But for the past months, strangely I've been finding myself looking back at the shows I had watched in the past. Beyblade is apparently one of them, and I realized how much of my fanfic ideas were already decaying from remaining unpublished.**

**Anyway, looking back at my files of still ongoing fics, I found out that this chapter for **_Opening Pandora's Jar_ **was already half-done. So while still feeling nostalgic (and rather than letting the chapter go to waste), I decided to complete it. Hmm, perhaps the existence of the Metal Fight Beyblade (although I didn't really check it out) also made me miss the original series. Let's see how far this nostalgia will carry me on with this fic. I hope this chapter would make up for the extremely long wait.  
**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

OPENING PANDORA'S JAR

ChApTeR 8

* * *

Hiromi's eyes groggily opened. She didn't understand how it was possible, but just now she had a faint feeling of being watched. Perhaps the vibes she felt were sent strong enough that even a sick person like her could feel it. Slightly turning her head, she could make out a faint silhouette near the stairs leading to the ground of grass, faced in her and Kai's direction. A girl? A guy? It was too far to tell. Her eyes aching for a while, she shut her lids over them to let them rest. But when they opened again, the figure was no longer there.

Had she just imagined it? The brunette tried to sit up, a part of her curious enough to go after it.

But then she felt Kai's hold on her tighten as though refusing to let her go, and her breath hitched on her throat. Was he still looking after her even in his sleep? She thought she heard him murmur some words that sounded like "...of my sight..." but they were too faint to be confirmed.

Sleepiness was quickly claiming her again, and she found it even more comfortable to just let her head lean against his shoulder with his bare arms warming her. _I probably just imagined the whole thing._

The silhouette bearing no importance to her anymore, she closed her eyes and joined Kai again in his sleep.

* * *

The rain was pouring hard but all Takao could feel was a strange tightening in his chest as he walked away.

His walk had automatically led him to places he'd grown to love. After all, the familiarity always put him at ease whenever he had things in his head to sort out, especially now with Hiromi's whereabouts nagging his mind. At the last minute he had been hoping he would run into Kai as well and perhaps they would walk back to the dojo together. Well, he had satisfied both of his inner wishes all right.

But they weren't in the way he expected.

_Hiromi before Kai, sleeping in his arms...  
_

His soaked body bristling, he shook his head vehemently as though to wipe away that shocking scene from his head, but it was already a heavily engraved memory—a rather bad one—in his confused mind. Why he was reacting like this when he didn't really care about Hiromi, he didn't know. But what he did know was that right now he couldn't stand seeing her and Kai the way they were. Bowing his head, dark bangs shadowing his eyes, he chose to walk straight home.

But that same heavy feeling still remained coiled around where his heart rested, pricking and threatening it at the same time. He gritted his teeth as though that action would dissolve this unwanted sensation, and when it failed the pain threatened to burn his body. His footsteps, slow at first, gradually gained speed until he was running blindly along the nearly slippery path. There was some unknown voice inside him that just demanded to scream out loud but still he continued to run. For how long he had to, it didn't matter. Minutes, hours, days, as long as he could get rid of this—

Suddenly he stumbled to the mud, his foot having already been tripped by an impeding tree root he had failed to see. But there was no pain. None that he could physically feel anyway. His palms balled into fists, he found himself gritting his teeth again, this time biting his lower lip until it bled.

Why the hell all of a sudden did he feel... betrayed?

* * *

Kai placed the phone receiver down seven hours later. Standing at the cozy living room of the Tachibana residence, he had just finished calling that girl whose house Hiromi was supposed to stay at—Mayu, according to the piece of folded paper he had found under the couch. With the help of a phone directory, tracking down the brunette's classmate had been quick. It hadn't been hard to lie to her. All he had told her was that there was a last-minute change of plans, that Hiromi would remain in her house while her parents were gone because she had finally found a friend to stay with—him, to be more precise—and that they both couldn't contact Mayu immediately last night because the phone had been out of order. The rest of her concerns such as Hiromi's absence had been easier to address after that.

Now that that problem had been settled, Kai dialed next the phone number of the Kinomiya household. When the line turned out to be busy, he tried again but to no avail.

Deciding to call again later, he walked upstairs and opened the door to Hiromi's bedroom. Just as he had left her earlier, Hiromi lay asleep on her bed, cold towels on her forehead and neck, a blanket warming her body. At least she wasn't shivering the way she had last night.

The rain had already stopped when Kai had woken up by sunrise, and he had carried the still sleeping Hiromi in his arms as he walked all the way to her house. Good thing the brunette carried the house key in the pocket of her skirt. Now she was in his hands, under his care. When he had made her take medicine earlier, Hiromi had complied albeit with her eyes closed, as though just half-conscious, making her a little less easier to read. Kai had considered calling a doctor but had decided against it for the moment. While the medical professional could aid Hiromi's physical health, perhaps even a little on her behavior, Kai knew the girl's strange actions would take more than science and psychology to be explained. Concepts regarding power of beyblades, if that was the real case now, would most likely be too hard and too much for the doctor to swallow, and Kai planned to maintain such concepts in low profile. After all, they fell within his territory. The less the doctor knew, the better. Besides, should the situation worsen, a doctor's presence might actually hamper Kai from observing Hiromi himself and discovering what was truly going on with her.

He gazed at Hiromi for a while, then closed the door behind him to head down, done with grace period he had set for his supposed next call. Picking up the phone again, he hit the redial button.

The phone was picked up at the first ring. "Kinomiya residence."

"Kinomiya."

There was quite a long pause. "Kai," he said finally. "What do you want?"

Kai felt his brow crease a bit. Takao sounded annoyed, almost angry, in fact. But the gray-eyed teen decided to ignore it. "Rei. I need him on the phone right now."

"Would that be all?"

A clipped tone.

"Yes."

"Really? Are you _sure_ there's nothing you've forgotten to tell us about?"

The curves of Kai's mouth drew down a little, not just because the question seemed to bear more substance than it was letting on. Usually Takao would confront him at once about whatever it was that the navy-haired teen believed he found wrong. Yet this time, he seemed to want to _imply_ the confrontation instead, if there was any. "Kinomiya, what is this about?"

"You didn't sleep here last night."

"I left a note."

"So where are you now then?"

Kai's eye slightly narrowed. What was with these questions all of a sudden? Takao would have asked the same things to any of his teammates he was concerned about but to Kai the questions now were out of anything but worry. "Tachibana residence."

It was punctuated by a long tense pause.

Dranzer's owner mentally frowned, having half-expected Takao to immediately demand what on earth he was doing at the house of the capped teen's biggest enemy along with other colorful adjectives regarding her. If this conversation could be translated into a visible scene, the strained silence would tell Kai that Takao had stiffened at his answer.

"So I heard."

It rather surprised Kai, though his face reflected nothing.

"Our classmate whose house Hiromi was supposed to stay at just called a minute ago to inform about the change in plans."

The reply was executed in an explanatory manner but Kai caught the note of accusation hanging on its edge, and it nearly ticked him off that his teammate sounded as if Kai had committed some sort of crime against him. Kai had no time for this. "Kinomiya, just get Rei on the phone now."

"Tch," came the other line but was replaced by hard footsteps against wooden floor.

_What the hell's his problem?_

"Kai?" Rei's voice carried over the line a few minutes later. "What happened? I heard you're at Hiromi-san's house right now."

"Yeah. Listen, pack up my stuff there and bring it here. I don't know how long I'll stay here but I have to." He paused. "Hiromi's sick."

"Sick?" The concern swimming in Rei's voice was unmistakable. "How is she now? Will she be all right?"

"I can't tell for now. One more thing, though. I have to go investigate something, so I also need you to watch over her while I'm gone."

"Well, I have no problem with bringing you your bag today. But as much as I want to look after her, I'm afraid that's not possible."

Kai mentally frowned. "Why not?"

"Daitenji-kaichou called an hour ago. He wanted a representative from our team to meet the representative of our opponents and talk about the more detailed parts of the match, followed by a tour. I suppose these activities are arranged to let the teams get to know each other better. Anyway, Takao is grounded, so he can't go. Besides, he and Kyouju, and even Max as well, have to attend school. You're not here either, and as for Hiromi-san... Well, I'm the only one available, so I might as well be our team's representative."

"I see."

"One more thing, Kai. The match is drawing near. I might become very busy with press conferences and other activities to be announced by the BBA, so I don't think I can help you much. But I can drop by there tomorrow to visit Hiromi-san before I go to the BBA office again."

It couldn't be helped, he supposed. "All right."

"Don't worry, though. I'll do my best to help as soon as I get free time." A pause. "Kai, what's going on?"

"I don't know exactly yet but I will find out," he answered. "I'll tell you the rest once you get here."

"All right. I'll see you later then."

Kai put the receiver down. So his personal investigation had to be put off. Well, he could allow that... for now. In the meantime at least he got Rei's cooperation. Kai knew he could count on the Chinese blader anytime. As for Takao...

Kai stared at the phone, the mild hostility in the grounded teen's tone ringing in his memory.

If Takao had any issues with Kai staying at Hiromi's house, then that was Takao's own problem. Kai never answered to anyone, and there was no reason to bend that rule for Takao now.

* * *

Seven o'clock in the evening.

Sitting on the chair beside Hiromi's study table, Kai gazed at the brunette lying on the bed just a short distance away from him, and then turned away. Hiromi hadn't even opened her eyes for real yet ever since he had kept her warm under the shelter of the bridge.

The situation was still the same way as when Rei had come in this morning.

Kai's mind raced back to what had transpired at that time. Relaying the series of past events to Rei had been brief since the latter had to deal with the immediate pre-exhibition match activities, but Kai had counted on his teammate's logic to clear out any conflicting ideas that might explain the big picture.

Unfortunately, Rei knew no better than Kai did.

_"__It just doesn't make any sense."_

If Kai had been taken aback by Hiromi's string of uncharacteristic actions, well, Rei had been greatly shocked. Clearly the latter held the same large amount of respect for Hiromi that Kai had.

_"__Taking Hiromi-san's sudden abilities into consideration, though, I feel we're missing a few, if not several, important links here. Stuff that we're overlooking at because we focus quite too much on what we can see. That's why we can't connect anything yet."_

Trust Rei to come up with a wise perspective despite not being able to understand the real picture.

"_I believe your concerns are valid, Kai. Staying here in the meantime would be the best idea. We might get the hints that we need to solve this problem depending on what happens after Hiromi-san wakes up. Despite how she broke off from the team, we can't just let her be like this." _

_Kai nodded. "And Pithos?"_

"_Not much we can do. Based on what you said, it seems as if Hiromi-san's odd and cold behavior started after her big fight with Takao. It's not like she has acted in such a way since the very day she found Pithos. She was still perfectly normal at that time, and the time gap between those two points is several days. It would have made even less sense." _

_Rei's words had some grain of logic but for some reason, Kai still found it hard to easily dismiss anything related to Hiromi's beyblade. "I'm not taking any chances." He took Pithos from Hiromi's study table and handed it over to Rei. "Give this to Kyouju and have him examine it in every way possible." _

_Rei stared at the beyblade in his hand for a while before looking up. "I understand." He hid Pithos in his pocket. "Will do. I'll see you again tomorrow then. Hopefully Hiromi-san would be awake by the time I visit her." _

"Ngh..."

Kai turned to his side.

Hiromi was turning her head from side to side, eyes shut tight as she moaned. The towel cooling her forehead slipped to her pillow, the towel on her neck out of place. Her face nearly flushed, she sat up as her eyes slowly opened, blank and lifeless for a while. Then she turned her head to Kai, those same eyes looking at him through half-open lids but it was like she was seeing him without seeing at all.

Kai's brow furrowed a bit. Was this also because of her illness?

But before he could do anything, her eyes closed and she slowly fell back on the bed. Kai got up and repositioned the disarrayed towels on her, huffs of her warm breath heating his arm. When he moved back, he saw her hands clutching the bed sheet once in a while. Then she kicked the blanket away from her body, and as as Kai watched, it pooled on the floor as she uttered, "Hot..."

He wasn't counting, however, to let his gaze stray on the fair skin unconcealed by her white skirt, slowly running along the length of her legs—

Abruptly he threw the blanket right over Hiromi as he looked away, a surge of irritation shooting right through him. Why was he even paying attention to such things? Ignoring her weak moan of protest again as the sheet reached her waist, he shut his eyes tight as though to force out that sudden memory of him noting his and Hiromi's close proximity when he had snatched her bag at the alley.

Kai turned around, ignoring the rustling of the blanket behind him. After a while the the moans gradually ceased, and he knew Hiromi had somehow gotten more comfortable. Good. Still he should know better than to let his inner guard down again. What just happened a minute ago shouldn't have occurred in the first place. He came here for a purpose, and that purpose alone. Things like this... He looked back at the disheveled blanket.

Things like this should be the last of his distractions.

* * *

Sunlight poured through the window the next day.

Kai squinted as the bright rays met his vision, and he turned away. His glance fell on the wall clock hanging beside the study table. Seven-thirty.

Rei would come any moment now. The beyblader with two-toned hair gazed down from Hiromi's bedroom window to see if Driger's owner was anywhere near the entrance of the house. But the latter had yet to appear.

Deciding to busy himself, Kai went over to the tidy study table to check its contents for anything of interest. His gaze landed on the rows of books neatly arranged on top. _Science_, _Math_, _English..._ He skipped the rest of the sequence when something else from a nearby large shelf caught his eye. _Tarot Reading for Beginners. Your Destiny as Read by Your Stars. Your Horoscope Now and Beyond._ He scanned the rest of the books. Palm reading, astrology, numerology...

To think someone as self-motivated and self-assured as Hiromi would depend her future on vague predictions of fortune telling. Rather unexpected of her.

Hiromi stirred, catching Kai's attention in an instant. When he silently neared her bed, he could see she was gaining consciousness. Finally. Still, he kept his distance at a certain point, preferring to observe the patient in her own space.

Hiromi's eyes slowly opened, slightly unfocused, staring blankly at the ceiling. Understandable since she hadn't truly woken up for more than twenty-four hours. Then they widened a bit as her head turned on its side, slowly registering her surroundings. But when they landed on Kai, she immediately sat up and drew herself away from him, reddish brown orbs widened in great surprise and...

Alarm?

Mentally frowning at this, Kai approached her a little more. But in response she backed away even more until her back connected with the edge of the headboard already, at the same time trying to speak yet no coherent sound came out. Kai hardly missed the way her big eyes darted back and forth as though searching for an escape route. Why did she look like she was cornered? Was she actually... _scared_ of him? Did she think he was going to hurt her or anything for what happened at the bridge? One step closer to the bed. "Hiromi—"

It was a mistake. He shouldn't have gone any nearer because Hiromi stood and jumped off the other edge of the bed in an attempt to make a dash for the door. But the minute her feet landed on the floor, her frame seemed unstable as though dizzy before it collapsed, her eyes losing focus once more.

Kai rushed and caught Hiromi by her arms just right before she made hard contact with the floor. He found it odd, however, that he noted how the brunette's head was relying on his shoulder blade for support, how soft and slender her arms were in his grasp. But he dismissed it off as only part of his watching over her condition. "You shouldn't have stood or jumped off like that," he uttered, coincidentally in her ear. "Don't you realize how weak you still are?"

He half-expected her to struggle or push him away to make her escape, but instead the girl only remained in his gentle hold for a while. Kai felt the tension in her muscles slowly melting away until they relaxed almost completely, and a momentary flashback of him and Hiromi near the river sparked in his mind. This was already the third time in a row that the brunette was in his hold.

Finally Hiromi raised her head until auburn locked with gray, the mixed doubt and wonder in her eyes distracting Kai from fully realizing her face was just a few inches from his lips' reach. She seemed calmer now, and it didn't seem like she was going to run away either.

So he slowly released her. "You okay now?"

Hiromi opened her mouth, but then her hands flew to her throat, her face wincing.

"Your throat's sore."

She slowly nodded.

_And can't stand on her own._ "Hold my arm," he ordered. Hiromi did so gingerly, and he guided her back to bed. Once she seemed quite comfortable sitting on the edge, palms planted on the mattress, Kai checked her again. "You haven't eaten in a long while. Wait here." With that, he turned to walk out of the room.

"Wait!"

Her weak, raspy word made him pause. He looked over his shoulder to find Hiromi regarding him in wonder, her cheeks almost tinged in pink for a while before it completely disappeared.

"Who... Who are you?"

* * *

**As subtle as it may seem, I've been already dropping hints on what is truly going on with Hiromi.**

**Please leave a review, dear reader. Let's face it: No matter how much one tries to be mature about it, feedback contributes a lot in motivating a fanfic author for updates in general. Thanks!**


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